The Center for Politics and Congressional Quarterly Politics hosted the 10th annual American Democracy Conference at the University Friday with a keynote address from Senator-elect Mark Warner.
In his address, the first since his election to the Senate, Warner spoke about the need for bipartisan cooperation.
“The stakes are too high for our country to be about retribution, to be about payback,” Warner said. “It’s terribly important to find that common ground and find those bipartisan solutions ... There is a growing awareness that we’re all going to be in this together.”
Warner also said there is currently a disconnect between the American people and traditional leadership, adding that voters this year rejected fear tactics and were concerned with efficiency in Washington.
“I think this was an election that strongly embraced pragmatism over ideology,” Warner said. “I came out of this election cycle still very optimistic about our country.”
Warner also stressed the need to address issues of energy and to create more jobs in the energy sector to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
The rest of the conference featured three panel discussions that focused on analyzing the 2008 election and determining what will come next in the sphere of American politics.
In the first panel, “Turning Points in the Primaries and Caucuses,” Democratic strategist Joe Trippi said a key turning point during the election occurred when Hillary Clinton said she would take campaign money from lobbyists. Trippi said this showed Hillary Clinton was “more of the same” in a “country hungry for change.”
Christian Ferry, deputy campaign manager for John McCain, noted that another important moment occurred in July 2007 when McCain, not yet the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, supported the surge of troops to Iraq.
“McCain said he’d rather lose a campaign than lose a war,” Ferry said, adding that this showed McCain’s judgment, insight and leadership.
In the second panel, “Marathon 2008,” which focused on the effects of the election, panelist and Rep. Artur Davis. D-Ala., said Barack Obama’s presidency has the potential to erase some of the lingering racial prejudices still present in America.
“If Obama governs well, it will dissolve those prejudices,” Davis said.
The third panel, “Politics 2009, What Now?” also focused on the lasting implications of the 2008 election on the future of American politics.
In this panel, Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway said she “feels no better about coverage of female candidates” after this election, based on press coverage of both Clinton and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Conway said she was unhappy with the coverage of women based on criticisms of their wardrobe and hairstyles.
Jeff Johnson, BET political motivator and youth voting activist, however, said this election was good for black women in that Michelle Obama provided a “powerful image of a strong black woman.”
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