Well respected Washington Post political analyst E.J. Dionne spoke about recent political trends and the 2000 presidential campaign last night to a group of 25 students in the Rockefeller Center.
The 2000 presidential campaign will be, "a war for control of everything, not just the White House, but also a closely divided Supreme Court," Dionne said.
He also predicted the campaign will be "closely-fought, and at times bitter," but "much more moderate politically" than previous elections.
Dionne said there is no demand for massive reform in this election. The keyword instead is "creeping incrementalism."
Dionne also spoke of presidential hopeful and Vice President Al Gore, characterizing his relationship with Clinton as evolving over the past few years.
"First, Gore said that Clinton was the best President ever, then he said Clinton was morally reprehensible. Now he is talking about the good things they did together."
Commenting on recent party politics during Clinton's term, Dionne said that neither Democrats nor Republicans have been willing to compromise very much because of a closely-divided Congress.
Dionne said that one fundamental conclusion that could be drawn from Clinton's presidency was that the Monica Lewinsky scandal caused the Administration to lose out on opportunities that took second priority to the investigation.
However, Dionne also noted that impeachment was not inevitable, and that the country has accomplished, "more than we'd like to think," over the past eight years.
Commenting on other issues, Dionne said he thinks America is tired of racial polarization and the discussion now will be how to expand opportunities for everyone.
Before taking questions, Dionne expressed his high hopes for the current generation of young adults.
Speaking directly to the students assembled, Dionne said, "Your generation is interesting. You have the potential to be the greatest reforming generation in history."
Dionne cited data labeling college-age students as possessing a much higher level of social commitment than other generations had, but also warned of a skepticism toward politics and government. -- he said the trick will be to reconcile the two.
