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Prominent liberal, conservative to debate Obama's first 100 days

By Paul LeBlanc GVL Staff Writer
4/1/2009

In what will surely be an exchange of impassioned and opposing viewpoints, Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies will host a debate on the first 100 days of the Barack Obama presidency tonight.

The debate will bring together Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of the prominent leftist weekly "The Nation," and Richard Lowry, editor of the landmark conservative magazine "The National Review."

Lowry and vanden Heuvel will square off on the ups and downs of the Obama presidency thus far, including an examination of Obama's economic policies, his fitness as commander in chief and whether he is delivering on his campaign promise of bringing about sweeping political change.

Both speakers intend to focus largely on Obama's plans for turning the tide of the current economic recession.

Vanden Heuvel will argue Obama's economic agenda is both necessary and transformative.

"(Obama's economic plans are) repairing 30 years of a lack of investment in this country, and using the power of an activist (and) smart government to repair and invest in an America that will be stronger as a result of these public investments," vanden Heuvel said.

Addressing conservative concerns about record-high deficits, vanden Heuvel will argue Obama's economic policies are both fiscally and morally responsible.

"We have underfunded that which has made us strong in the world as a competitive country, as a human country, whether it's underfunding education or failing to rebuild our infrastructure" vanden Heuvel said. "I think this idea of deficits (being) too high is not only wrong according to many economists, but also immoral in the sense that we need spending to put people back to work."

Lowry, on the other hand, will call into question the wisdom of Obama's expensive spending policies.

"I think over the long term, Obama's (spending policies) are going to be a problem," Lowry said. "The massive spending has been wasteful, and in some respects deliberately wasteful. (Obama's) budget is dishonest and tries to hide the kind of deficits we'll see down the road."

Lowry will also question the long-term effects Obama's public spending will have on the country.

"We have the baby boomers that are beginning to retire and these unsustainable entitlements - Social Security and Medicare," Lowry said. "(The current climate) is the wrong time for government to lurch even further down the road of fiscal irresponsibility than it has before."

GVSU's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies is hosting the event as part of its annual Ralph W. Hauenstein Series, which consists of a number of public lectures, conferences and debates among prominent political leaders and scholars.

"If you assume that newspapers are in real financial trouble, and that there will be a less reliable source of news in the future, it is important that citizens have the opportunity to hear debates aired out," said Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center.

Whitney added debates such as this one provide a unique opportunity for citizens to hear different perspectives on current issues.

"I chose Katrina vanden Heuvel because she is one of the most prominent progressive writers in the country and editor ... of one of the oldest leftist journals in the nation," Whitney said. "I chose Rich Lowry because he is one of the most prominent editors and writers on the right, and he is the editor of a very distinguished conservative journal of opinion."

Vanden Heuvel, who also frequently contributes political commentary to television and other news outlets, has served as "The Nation" editor since 1995.

Lowry has served as the "The National Review" magazine's editor since 1997. Additionally, he has contributed to a number of news publications as well, and is a featured commentator on Fox News Channel.

The debate will start at 7 p.m. at Fountain Street Church, located at 24 Fountain St. NE in Grand Rapids and will also be broadcast on the Hauenstein Center's Web site.

pleblanc@lanthorn.com

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