Well, I may make this a bit shorter, simply because I’m not feeling 100% and should’ve gone to bed about an hour ago. Anyways, today had its ups and downs. The morning session was lackluster with the exception of the Pakistani Ambassador. In the afternoon, our group took a trip to Capitol Hill, and in the evening, attended a performance by political satirist Mark Russell.
The morning session opened and closed with Faculty Director, Steve Bell. Mr. Bell addressed bias in the media, showing clips from the View, SNL and various other tv programs. By showing both McCain and Obama on the View, one could blatantly see differences in the ‘interviews’ of the candidates. Any statement to the contrary is erroneous. Ross Baker, a poli- sci professor from Rutgers gave his opinions about the challenges that President-Elect Obama will face during his presidential ‘honeymoon’. Our Scholar in Residence, Dr. Genovese focused on Congress in his speech. He touched on areas including the workings of the legislative branch, and its relationship with the executive branch. His Excellency Ambassador Hussain Haqqani mixed humor with global ideas to help us understand what an important power player the U.S. is in the international arena. He emphasized that we, as a nation, must respect the sovereignty of others. He also quoted an advertisement, saying that “Hope is not a method.” The U.S. and other nations cannot and should not sit back and crossing our fingers that something may actually get accomplished; no, it is imperative that we, like numerous nations do need to step in every so often.
I had been looking froward to visiting the Capitol for quite some time, yet was rather uneasy about how mundane it truely was. That problem was easily fixed thanks to Mark Russell. This man is absolutely HILARIOUS!!! Honestly, you just needed to see the show to understand how truely fabulous this performance. One of my favorite parts was when he mentioned Buffalo in one part, and all us Bona’s students begin to cheer. Mr. Russell, being from Buffalo then made a joke about what else… wings, claiming that you can’t find good wings in D.C.
Tomorrow should be a good one; we have a Congressional panel of former political officeholders coming to help us better comprehend the role of Congress during Obama’s transition. Should be interesting, but as I am slowly becoming a zombie, I must call it a night.
