Political Analysts Provide Pre-Debate Bipartisan Commentary
University Communications
University Reporter
By
Yves P. Salomon
For many of the viewers watching the debate live via satellite in the
Lipke Auditorium, this was not only an opportunity to watch the two presidential
hopefuls attack each other on such important issues as education, abortion,
Social Security, military spending, and tax cuts. It was also an opportunity
to enjoy a discussion led by two prominent professors and policy analysts,
Elizabeth Sherman and Mickey Edwards.
Sherman, director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the McCormack Institute, and Edwards, professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, encouraged viewers to watch the debate with a critical eye, keeping in mind important issues excluded from both candidates' campaigns. One such important issue is mental health, said Edwards.
Indeed neither Gore nor Bush mentioned managed care practices, including refusal of services and premature and unplanned discharge from clinics and hospitals, that lead to the continued presence of the mentally ill among the homeless population. According to a study sponsored by the National Coalition for Homelessness, 20-25 percent of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness.
Mental health was not the only topic of the pre-debate discussion. Sherman addressed the utility of presidential debates. Each debate, said Sherman, "is a classic political event, the irresistible mix of the two essential elements of the modern age—personality and technology. From tonight's debate here in Boston...plus the single vice presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky, will emerge new campaign issues, new campaign soundbites, and new campaign perceptions." Shama Alam, an honors student, says the expression "fuzzy math" is indelible in her memory. "Decades from now, I'm sure I'll still be able to remember the term," said Alam.
While viewers at the Clark Athletic Center sat in their chairs listening quietly to the candidates going back and forth, the Lipke viewers greeted their challenges and responses with applause and laughs, and even ranted at times. Approximately 200 students, faculty, and staff, along with others were scattered in the auditorium.
Honors students Yves Solomon, Shama Alam, and Deborah Kaufman contributed
to this article.