Kennedy staffer, foreign policy historian, analyze debate in Shamblin Sept. 26

Janel Shoun | 

Lipscomb University
September Debate Week
Sept. 22-26
 
The Presidential and
Vice-Presidential Debates:
A Viewer’s Guide
Monday, Sept. 22
7:30 p.m., Ezell Center
Michael Nelson,
Rhodes College expert on the American presidency
 
The Bay of Pigs
Thursday, Sept. 25
7:30 p.m., Ward Hall
Howard Jones
University of Alabama expert on historical foreign policy
 
Debate-Watching Party
Friday, Sept. 26
8 p.m., Shamblin Theatre
John Seigenthaler, former
Kennedy staffer, and
Howard Jones, historian
To check out Lipscomb's Election 2008 Website headquarters click here.

Lipscomb University will host John Seigenthaler Sr., former editor and publisher of The Tennessean and a former member of the President Kennedy administration, and foreign policy historian Howard Jones as commentators to speak and answer questions after the first presidential debate-watching party for Lipscomb students on Friday, Sept. 26.

With their first-hand experience and extensive scholarly research, Seigenthaler and Jones are excellent choices to put the first debate, centered on foreign policy and national security issues, into perspective for the students who will be gathered in Shamblin Theatre.

The comments following the Friday night debate will cap off a week of free, on-campus events leading up to the first presidential debate held at the University of Mississippi. Michael Nelson, Fulmer professor of political science at Rhodes College and expert on the American presidency, will lead off the week with a tip session for debate watchers on Monday, Sept. 22.

 

John Seigenthaler Sr.
Howard Jones
In addition, Jones will present a lecture on Thursday, Sept. 25, about the Bay of Pigs debacle, comparing it to modern foreign policy issues the new president will likely face in 2009.

In 1960, America had a “very young Kennedy becoming president, and the very first foreign policy decision he had to make was dealing with Cuba. It was a plan that was put together by the previous administration, and it turned into a disaster,” said Tim Johnson, Lipscomb professor of history, who invited Jones to speak on campus.

“So say Barack Obama is elected president. He is a young guy, and he will immediately be dealing with similar issues, such as Iran and the development of nuclear weapons and probably some policy decisions made by the previous administration. He could potentially have similar weighty decisions to make.”

In the 1960s, Seigenthaler served in the U.S. Justice Department as administrative assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and his work led to his role as chief negotiator with the governor of Alabama during the Freedom Rides.

Jones, professor at the University of Alabama, has written Mutiny on the Amistad and Death of a Generation as well as his most recently released book, Bay of Pigs.

“One worked for a president and one has written and studied the presidency. They have different perspectives, but both authoritative perspectives,” Johnson said.

Michael Nelson is the author of 22 books on the American presidency. His works have analyzed every presidential administration through President George W. Bush, and he has published numerous articles in scholarly journals and periodicals such Newsweek and the New York Times.

On Monday, he will discuss the history of political debates and how viewers can read between the rhetoric during the Sept. 26 debate.