Norman J. Ornstein said that we are entering the “Cialis period.”
“We are entering a period of an extremely stimulated economy. I would like to refer to this as the ‘Cialis’ period, and it will last longer than four hours, too,” he said.
Pitt’s University Honors College hosted renowned political scientists and authors Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann to talk about the results of the most recent election and how it will affect the future of the United States and U.S. politics.
The title of the lecture was “After the 2008 Elections: How can they govern?” which was included as part of the American Experience Distinguished Lecture Series. Previous lecturers include George H. W. Bush and Sen. Bob Casey.
The evening began in the ballroom in the second floor of the Twentieth Century Club. Pitt professor of political science Susan B. Hansen introduced the two guest speakers.
Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and has also made appearances in The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Mann is the W. Averell Harriman chair and senior fellow in governance studies at The Brookings Institution.
Ornstein and Mann have both been in Washington for 39 years and have admitted to never seeing as much dysfunction in the U.S. government as they have in the past eight years.
Ornstein began by praising President-elect Barack Obama for his attitude toward President Bush.
“When Obama told Bush that he understood there can only be one president at a time, Bush replied that is not what Dick Cheney told him,” said Ornstein jokingly.
All joking aside, Ornstein addressed the difficulties that Obama faces. No matter how confident he is going in to office, the issues that he faces cannot be resolved overnight. The damage that has been done in the past eight years was described by Ornstein as two waves of category four hurricanes.
“Obama cannot simply wave a magic wand,” said Ornstein.
Still, the issue of Congressional support was repeated from both speakers throughout the lecture. Obama is the one of four Democratic nominees to win by a clear majority. Obama also has the advantage of taking office with a majority of Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“Relative to Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Obama has more experience in Washington,” said Mann.
Mann also emphasized how Obama is not threatened by able people and has an enormous amount of self-confidence.
“The obstacles he will face are enormous. He must improve the image of the U.S. to the world and also improve and restore trust in the government, which as of right now is at a historic low,” said Mann.
Obama will have the chance to make decisions, and there are many debates over what those decisions should be.
“Many politicians are telling Obama to think big and make very drastic changes. Others, however, suggest that overreaching risks another failed presidency, something we simply can not afford right now,” said Mann.
This is a very difficult time to be a member of Congress. One of Mann and Ornstein’s goals is to try and explain to the public just how difficult it is to be a member of Congress.
Democrats picked up momentum in 2006 because the public blamed the Republicans for the many problems that began to arise. With 30 retiring Republicans from the House of Representatives, it was no surprise that the Democrats are taking the clear majority when Obama enters office, said Ornstein.
Overall, the two speakers are very optimistic about the future of U.S. politics with Obama’s presidential victory.
“For the first time in years, conservatives, liberals and moderates alike are all in agreement that Obama has shown something we are not used to seeing: real intelligence,” said Mann.
Author talks stimulation at Honors College lecture
Published: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Updated: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Be the first to comment on this article!