Student Roundtable

(Video Presentation not available)
Conference Discussion

The Semester in Washington Program at George Washington University is a two course core curriculum that instructs students on how to run successful political campaigns. The first course is Introduction to Political Management which is taught by Dr. Mark Seigel and various guest lecturers. It is amazing to be taught a class on polling in the morning and then go home to see the man that taught your class on MSNBC that night.

The second is a Practicum in Political Management where we put what we are taught in the classroom to work. For the practicum, the class of 12 was divided in half and we were assigned to run a mock Senate campaign that will take place in VA in the year 2000. I have been assigned to former Governor George Allen’s campaign. Everyone picked the positions that he or she would like to hold for the campaign. I am the campaign’s media director and am in charge of producing the campaigns radio and television commercials and designing the pieces that will be used for the direct mailings. At first, I was not sure how much like a real campaign this experience this would be. Our moderator, who has successfully managed several Senatorial campaigns, told us how we would soon get caught up in the competition of the campaign. He also told us that even though some of our friends, and in some cases roommates, were on the other team, we would soon find that we would be shying away from them to work with our fellow campaign workers. We are very excited about our chances since we are running as the challenger in this campaign. Polls for the actual race in 2000 have us ahead of Chuck Robb by 10 points.

At the end of the semester, we will have compiled a campaign plan that we will have to present to a panel of judges for our final. Rumored to be among the judges for this semester are James Carville and Mary Matilin. In any event, we will present our finished plan to the panel, who will then decide, based on our plan, who would have won had the race actually taken place.

As part of part of the class in Political Management, every Friday we are take on a "Special Event." This has been one of the most interesting experiences of my semester here. I have been to places here that I never would have been able to gain access to had I been a regular student here or a tourist. Our first Friday here, we were taken to see a taping of the McLaughlin Group and were able to talk the guests who were on the panel that week. In the following we weeks, we went to the RNC and DNC for tours and to listen different speakers. We have also been to the NRA which included a tour of the shooting range. The most memorable so far has to be our night tour of the West Wing of the White House. We were originally scheduled to take our tour on February 13, but a fairly important verdict was being handed down that day and we were asked to come at later date. We were taken to the press room and had our pictures taken behind the famous podium. We walked throught the rose garden, which notably had no roses in it, and we were allowed to look into the Oval Office and walk into the Roosevelt Room. Last week, we met with the Chief of Staff of a freshman congressman who took us onto the floor of the House of Representatives. And finally, this past Thursday we were taken by our professor to the Parkinson’s Action Network fundraising dinner where we met Senator and presidential hopeful, John McCain from Arizona.

And as if being apart of all these experiences with the Program were not enough, I also have my experiences from my internship. This semester I have been interning at Luntz Research Companies. Frank Luntz, president and founder, is renowned as one of the most influential GOP pollsters in the District and an interesting character to say the least. His accomplishments are too many to list, but it is fair to say that working in his office as been one of my most memorable experiences while here. While my work in the office does consist of usual intern duties every once in a while, I am amazed at the tasks the project directors give me to do. What I have found very interesting so far is learning the ins and outs of polling, especially Frank’s favored way of Instant Response.

Frank is never in the office for very long because he is often meeting with the Republican leaders on the Hill or other clients. Last week I was told that I had to take Frank a video that he desperately needed to make a presentation to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. I hopped into a cab and was off to the Capitol Building. After much searching, I found the meeting room. I was expecting to drop the tape off to Frank and be on my way back to work. I was shocked when Frank asked me to stay and sit in on the meeting. So, for about an hour I listened as Frank presented his findings to Chairman Archer and his staff. Had it not been for this semester here in Washington, I doubt that I would have ever had the chance to experience that in my life.

This semester here in Washington, DC has been has the most memorable of my political experiences because I have been completely immersed into the political would. It cannot be escaped in this town. From finding out what it’s like to run a Senatorial campaign to interning at Frank Luntz’s each day has been one I will never forget.