Coming soon to Carleton Connects is a thought-provoking primer for the upcoming presidential contest. On Wednesday, October 24, Politico cofounder and editor in chief John Harris ’85 presents “The 2012 Presidential Election: What’s Happening and Why”. Joining him are Alex Burns, reporter for Politico, and Professor Steven Schier, resident presidential expert and the Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science at Carleton College. There will be an opportunity for questions and comments at the end of the presentation
This program took place on Wednesday, October 24, 2012
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Harris is a native of Rochester, N.Y. and graduated from Carleton with a degree in American History in 1985. He helped launch Politico, a publication specializing in national politics and the workings of the federal government, in 2007. Since that time, it has become one of the country’s most-trafficked news sites and has drawn widespread attention nationally and internationally for its efforts to create a new editorial and business model to sustain robust journalism in an era of radical change for the media industry. The publication now has more than 180 employees in its news and business operations and was recently named by “Fast Company” magazine to its annual list of America’s most innovative companies. Harris was also recently listed in the Telegraph’s list of most influential Washington journalists and GQ’s list of the most influential people in Washington.
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Professor Schier completed his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His interests are primarily in American politics, including interest groups, elections, Congress, the presidency, and political parties. He is the author of several books, including:By Invitation Only: The Rise of Exclusive Politics in the United States (2000), You Call This an Election? America’s Peculiar Democracy (2003), and Panorama of a Presidency: How George W. Bush Acquired and Spent his Political Capital (2009). He edited The Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton’s Legacy in American Politics (2000), High Risk and Big Ambition: The Early Presidency of George W. Bush (2004), and Transforming America: Barack Obama in the White House (2011), and coedited of The American Elections of 2008 (2009). Professor Schier can sometimes be heard on the air as political analyst for KSTP television in Minneapolis. He teaches courses in American politics and methodology
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Alexander Burns joined POLITICO at the start of the 2008 general election campaign. After contributing to POLITICO’s campaign reporting, Burns covered the race for chairman of the Republican National Committee that ended with the election of Michael Steele.
A graduate of Harvard College, where he edited the Harvard Political Review, Burns has appeared as a political analyst on television and radio shows including Fox News Channel’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” the CBS “Early Show” and Bill O’Reilly’s “Radio Factor.” In addition to POLITICO, his work has appeared in National Journal and American Heritage magazine.