Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.
Today the Spy commentators to discuss the GOP Convention, the decision to without the Republican platform for the 2020 election and the possible politicization of the Supreme Court.
This video is approximately eighteen minutes in length. To listen to From and Fuller via podcast, please go here:
Background
While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.
The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.
Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.
From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”
Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.
For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.
Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.
With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.
Howard Freedlander says
Another excellent program by From,’Fuller and Wheelan’.. the views expressed are informed, persuasive an savvy, Al From and Craig Fuller are credible and thoughtful. A great Spy feature.
Rick Skinner says
Emerson had it right: Events are in the saddle and ride mankind. Six months into a pandemic and its twin, an economic recession nearing depression, we are in the last stages of a presidential election. Ironically, both parties agree to the historic importance of the election even if the America each sees is from different universes. Mr. Trump dominates the news cycle just as he has since the 2016 campaign, but as to where he wishes to take the country, it’s hard to say, save for the Apocalypse that will surely arrive if Mr. Biden is elected.
Your as-always-thoughtful commentators seem as mystified by the state-of-affairs as the rest of us, and that is not due to lack of expertise or experience. We may have arrived at one of those moments in history that is sui genesis, without precedent or even an analogy. The proverbial arc of history may have been knocked off its path, and all of us – Trumpers and Bidenites alike – might better invest some time and imagination as to where history’s path is taking us. I think it was – of all people – Karl Marx who asserted history DOES repeat itself: the first time as tragedy, then as farce. The rest of the world may well be laughing at America and the slapstick that seems to be our present state-of-affairs. I, for one, don’t see much to laugh about.