Mara Liasson '77, a national political correspondent for National Public Radio and contributor to Fox News, spoke to a full hall of mostly community members about the presidential election last night at the Providence Central Congregational Church.
Liasson graduated from Brown with a degree in American history and has covered all of the presidential elections since 1992. She has won several White House Correspondents' Association Merriam Smith Awards for her work.
Liasson said that this past election was the "most amazing election" that she would probably ever witness in her lifetime because it represented a "racial breakthrough," a repudiation of President Bush and a "huge shift in power." It is "hard to exaggerate" the "historical nature of what just happened," she said, adding that this election was a "testament" to the country's ability to renew itself.
Liasson called Election day a "Democratic tsunami." She explained that President-elect Barack Obama not only won an incredible popular vote majority, but also "busted down the door." Obama won at least nine states that Bush had won in 2004. He won the Hispanic vote two-to-one, and won the youth vote two-to-one as well, according to Liasson. "The number of newly registered Democrats surpasses the number of registered Republicans by far," Liasson said. The senator is creating a whole new generation of Democrats, she said.
Liasson said that while the "knife fight" between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama was much more negative than the presidential campaign, the long primary came as a "blessing in disguise" because it allowed Obama to set up roots all over the country and visit regions of the United States that would have never seen a presidential candidate otherwise.
Obama led a "pretty flawless campaign," Liasson said. She said that his campaign used a whole new universe of political technology tools, which helped him obtain 10 million names on a listserv, 3.1 million donors and tens of thousands of volunteers.
Conversely, she said, Sen. John McCain ran a "lousy" campaign. In addition, the political environment for Republicans grew "toxic" because the economy became an overwhelmingly dominant issue. McCain only worsened the situation by admitting that the economy was a "bad subject" for him.
Liasson also said that McCain was a "victim of his own political courage," referring to his support of the troop surge in Iraq, and that his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate "showed what a deep hole" he was in.
Though Liasson said many questions remain as to how Obama will deal with the many problems that are "coming down the pipe," she's certain he has the opportunity to be a "great president" in the face of those issues.
The political correspondent was introduced by Darrell West, in whose honor the lecture is named. West, former professor of public policy and political science and director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy, recently moved to Washington to work as vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution.
Before introducing Liasson, West spoke about his recent experiences in the capital. West said that there were "wild cheers" throughout Washington on election night and that he was "excited" to see how the new president will deal with issues such as the current financial situation and the war in Iraq.
