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 the science and art of political polling as the country enters a presidential election year. Al and Craig also reflect on the recent resignation of Harvard University president Claudine Gay in the wake of free speech issues on campus related to the Gaza conflict and claims of academic plagiarism.
This video podcast is approximately 22 minutes in length.
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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 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.
Sue Regier says
Someone please explain to me how an accurate poll can be achieved in this day and age. With everyone having cell phones and no one picking up calls from unknown numbers, the only ones responding to polls are those who are naive enough to answer all calls. Not a stellar cross section.
I would like to be convinced in spite of these cold hard facts.
David Stevens says
When the country is so polarized polls can reflect that as much as what the thoughtful attitudes are for the majority of voters. For Biden there is a solid majority of Republicans who think he is doing a terrible job no matter where the economy is. Low unemployment and now low inflation say that the country is doing very well. Better than any country in Europe. But to a Republican that doesn’t matter. If a Democrat is President then the country is going horribly wrong.
But when people go to the polls will a majority vote for Trump? No but then with the electoral college only a handful of states matter which means only the voters in a handful of states matter. This country is not rated as a full democracy for that and other reasons.But what we have as a democracy will hang in the balance in the next election depending on the views of a small minority of voters. Let us hope they vote correctly.