Vast Improvements

Today left yesterday’s frustration and disappointment far behind, with one exception.  During the second taping of the Washington Journal the guest was Dana Perino, the press secretary for the Bush administration.  The show went fairly well, but as another student mentioned, none of the callers seemed to have a good question today, but instead praised the Bush administration endlessly without asking anything.  That would have been perfectly acceptable if it were not for the fact that there were no callers whatsoever to represent the ‘other side’.  It made the show seem unbalanced.  However this pales in comparison to my biggest qualm with today; when a student asked Perino’s thoughts on the belief that the Bush administration repeatedly used words such as ‘threat’ and ‘terror’ to scare the American public right after 9/11 , Perino succeeded in insulting what seemed like the entire audience.  She implied that we did not remember what it was like after the terrorist attacks. 

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard of the attacks, and how I went home that day and watched the news coverage for days with my family.  I know I was deeply affected by the events of that day, and I have yet to meet someone of my generation who does not feel the same way.  Perino’s comment seemed not only uninformed but also defensive in such a way that she seemed to want to simply put the girl down.  The result was having nearly the entire audience nearly boo her on live television out of shock and probable outrage.

The day got progressively better however, as we next heard from Ted Koppel.  He was very informative and had some insightful comments.  He was very gracious in answering questions thoroughly.  It was certainly and honour to have such a distinguished guest speak to our group.  He seemed genuinely pleased to do it, which means a lot and went a long way in making his presentation even easier to think about and take to heart.  Next we heard from Pulitzer Prize winner Clarence Page, who talked about things ranging from changing race relations to the Obama transition to Chicago politics.  His presentation was extremely entertaining as well as informative, which is a great strategy.  His anecdote about the long transition from being called ‘colored’ to ‘a person of color’ was an innovative way to express the changing relationship and role minorities have in our country.  It was refreshing to hear a presentation which did not have a strong focus on the media or national politics.  I have held a certain inexplicable fascination for Chicago for quite some time, and so the discussion about that city’s political quirks was particularly interesting for me.

By far the highlight of the day (and so far the trip) was meeting with the Algerian ambassador Abdallah Baali at the Algerian Embassy.  We all sat at a conference table and enjoyed an atmosphere that was both formal and relaxed.  there seemed to be a mutual interest in both parties, and Ambassador Baali encouraged our questions from the very beginning.  I learned a lot about the role an ambassador plays, as well as the balancing act Algeria must play as an Arab and African nation and as an ally to the United States in the war on terror.  I must admit I knew very little about Algeria itself, not to mention its relationship with the United States, but I think that just means I learned even more.  This was certainly a wonderful experience and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity.  Ambassador Baali was very approachable, something which was almost surprising, as I was not only excited but also a bit nervous to talk with him.  I would say our meeting with him on its own made this the most enjoyable and informative day so far.  It makes me look forward to tomorrow even more, when we will be hearing from the Ambassador of Pakistan and visiting the Capitol.