Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.
This week, From and Fuller discuss their failure to accurately predict the 2024 election outcome and Donald Trump’s remarkable campaign performance last Tuesday. Al and Craig also trade thoughts on the impact, or lack thereof, of both gender and race as factors that led to defeat for the Harris-Walz Democratic ticket.
This video podcast is approximately sixteen minutes in length.
To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:
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. He is the author of “New Democrats and the Return to Power.”
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 eight years, where he now chairs the board of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and is a former board member of the Academy Art Museum and Benedictine. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors and writes an e-newsletter available by clicking on DECADE SEVEN.
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.
Matt LaMotte says
“The government of a man who is just, does not harm the people.”
From The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and one of Ancient Rome’s greatest emperors.
An essential principle for any leader: justice and fairness in governance ensure the well-being of the people.
This quote reflects Marcus Aurelius’ perspective on leadership and public life; a life focused on wisdom, virtue, justice and the common good. We can only hope…
Jim Moses CDR, USN (Ret.) says
It will be interesting to see the reaction when many, especially the Hispanics, about whom we read so much, wake up and realize how badly they were conned. Que Scott Joplin.
Tim Furey says
I think Mr. From misses two critical insights because he and many other Democrats are still stuck in racial profiling of the electorate.
1. It’s not that fewer Democrats voted but perhaps rather than more voters shifted to identify as Independent or Republican. Even conservatives are trying to blame the Dem vote drop off on less ballot stuffing — that’s wrong, people are actually changing their political opinions.
2. Once again, From gets stuck assuming political opinion is determined by the color of one’s skin or how they “identify”. The data clearly shows more conservative political thinking of Hispanics, Blacks, and other minorities.
Mr. From needs to help Democrats change their understanding of the American electorate — most of us don’t see our race, gender, or sexual orientation as determinants of how we should think.
Laurie Powers says
Legacy media and pundits missed it big. Independent journalists and those of us in the Unity Party campaign expected a landslide because we were on the ground witnessing reality. The rest believed what they wanted to believe, including biased polls, and were therefore, surprised.
As, at least partial, explanation of the difference in voting turnout by party from 2020, many millions of disillusioned Democrats have left the party since then and become Independents or Republicans. And millions of those, who were Kennedy/Unity Party supporters, helped ensure an historic red wave and sweeping victory – popular vote, Electoral College, House, Senate.
Dems did this to themselves, but so far, haven’t shown an inkling of humility or real self-reflection, save comedian commentator, Bill Maher. The party has lost touch with the reality experienced by the majority of Americans and needs to refocus on improving that, rather than on retaining power and pandering to their elite/corporate donors and the radical fringe, if they hope to regain relevancy.