On Monday, March 29, the first Sanders Speaker Series welcomed Dana Perino, former White House press secretary, and Donna Brazile, vice chair of voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee to the Richard K. Stem Concert Hall in the Ogle Center. There were about 100 people at the event.
The evening started with Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles giving some background information about the Sanders Series.
Patterson-Randles also spoke about the IUS Master of Business Administration Program, recited the new vision statement and introduced the speakers.
Brazile, who is also a commentator for CNN, spoke first. Throughout her speech, she used metaphors and humor to get her point across.
Brazile spoke about the Senate elections and how history suggests the majority party in the Senate will lose seats. She said voters are worried about the country and feel it’s on the wrong track.
The economy, Brazile said, will also be a major factor in the Senate elections. The recent Tea Party movement will raise some concerns for Democrats running in the Senate.
“[The Tea Party] is stirring up a real wicked brew,” Brazile said.
Perino spoke second and talked about her experience as press secretary. She said she learned quickly that something always comes up in the White House.
Perino also talked about the Senate election and said she knows President Barack Obama “inherited” a lot, but he needs to look at the statistics, such as a recent poll stating 60 percent of Americans don’t like the health care bill.
Perino also used another example from a recent poll. This poll said 70 percent of voters don’t like one-party rule. She said statistics like these will be a factor in the election.
Perino said the Republicans haven’t won the race yet, but there are a lot of qualified Republican candidates running.
After the speeches, some audience members got to ask Brazile and Perino questions. Both speakers agreed more women need to get involved in politics. Brazile said many women who are in politics aren’t given much credit.
During a one-on-one interview with Perino, she said, as press secretary, she had many jobs. One job was to defend President Bush to the press and talk about his agenda. Another job was defending the press to President Bush and his staff.
Perino also said she had a duty to the press to reply quickly and to get all her facts before commenting on a certain topic.
“Usually, first reports are never right,” Perino said.
Perino also had to tell the president and his staff how the press would react to a situation. She said President Bush was tolerate of bad press, but he respected whatever she said to the press.
Perino also said, as press secretary, she couldn’t allow her own opinions and views to interfere with her job.
“It’s not your job to worry about what your opinion is,” Perino said.
Perino said the most challenging topic to discuss was about the war in Iraq. Because a lot of information was classified, she couldn’t tell the press much about a particular subject.
Perino remains busy being a Fox News contributor. She is frequently seen on “Hannity and Colmes” and “Fox and Friends.” She said she likes being a contributor.
“I really enjoy being an observer of politics and an analyst,” Perino said.
She has her own public relations company called Dana Perino and Company. She also recently started her own mentoring program called Minute Mentoring, which mentors young, professional women. President Obama nominated her to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which monitors Boys of America. She is waiting for Senate confirmation.
Perino worked for the Justice Department as a spokesperson after Sept. 11, 2001. She developed relationships with lawyers and learned a lot that helped her as press secretary.
Perino said it wasn’t until after leaving the position as press secretary in January 2009 that she really came to appreciate her time as press secretary.
Lori Shea-Green, an IUS Alumni, attended and was impressed by Brazile.
“I think it was very inspirational,” Shea-Green said. “It took us back to what the values are of our country. I just really thought a lot of Donna Brazile.”
Patterson-Randles said the Sanders Speaker Series is beneficial for IU Southeast.
“It’s certainly helping increase the reputation of our wonderful school here,” Patterson-Randles said.
The Sanders Speaker Series is an endowment that was set up in 2008 by Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders. The couple donated $300,000 to start it.
The goal of the series is to bring well-known speakers to IU Southeast annually and talk about important issues to the community.
By AMANDA FRENCH
Staff Writer
aafrench@imail.iu.edu
