Nation's Leading Political Consultants to Gather at Tulane

Nation"s Leading Political Consultants to Gather at Tulane for Bipartisan Policy Center"s Inaugural Political Summit

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will bring some of the nation"s most prominent Republican and Democratic political consultants to take part in the BPC"s Inaugural Political Summit, November 9-10, in the Kendall Cram Room on the second floor of Tulane University"s Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life.

The summit"s theme, Taking the Poison Out of Partisanship, will feature panel discussions with leading consultants from both parties who are on the front lines of the increasingly polarized debate in American politics. The summit will feature four panels open to the media and public. The panels open to the public on Monday, Nov. 9 will be What"s Fair in Politics? from 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. (opening remarks will begin at 2:30 p.m.) and Assessing the Obama Presidency from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

On Tuesday, Nov. 10 the panels open to the public will be Looking Ahead to 2010 and 2012 from 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. (opening remarks will begin at 9:30 a.m.) and The Role of the Media in Elections from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Republican participants will include: Dan Bartlett, counselor to George W. Bush; Charlie Black, campaign adviser to John McCain; Tony Blankley, columnist for The Washington Times; Alex Castellanos, top media adviser to Bush Cheney "04, as well as Mitt Romney"s presidential campaign; Jeff Larson, lead organizer of the 2008 Republican National Convention; Bill McInturff, lead pollster for John McCain"s presidential campaign; Mark McKinnon, former policy and media consultant to George W. Bush and John McCain; Steve Schmidt, senior campaign strategist and advisor to John McCain; and David Winston, adviser to former Congressman J.C. Watts.

Democrats include: John Anzalone, pollster for Barack Obama"s 2008 campaign; Tad Devine, senior advisor and strategist for John Kerry"s presidential campaign; Stanley Greenberg, adviser to the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Tony Blair; Larry Grisolano, senior communication strategist for the Obama presidential campaign; Mandy Grunwald, director of advertising for Bill Clinton"s 1992 campaign; Joe Lockhart, press secretary for Bill Clinton; Catherine “Kiki” McLean, senior adviser to the Hillary Clinton"s presidential campaign; Steve McMahon, strategist for Howard Dean"s presidential campaign; Hilary Rosen, Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post; and Joe Trippi, manager of Howard Dean"s presidential campaign.

The forums will be moderated by some of America"s top political journalists and analysts, including Ronald Brownstein, Charlie Cook, Walter Isaacson and Jeff Zeleny. James Carville and Mary Matalin will serve as Honorary Co-Chairs and Big Easy hosts. Members of the press wishing to attend, please RSVP to press@bipartisanpolicy.org. Those interested in scheduling interviews with any of the participants, please contact Ashley Clark at (202) 637-1456 or aclark@bipartisanpolicy.org.

“This summit will provide an opportunity to discuss how Republicans and Democrats can adhere to their ideological principles while maintaining an aura of civility,” said Eileen McMenamin, BPC"s Vice President of Communications. “At a time when political battles have reached a fever pitch, the BPC is convening this forum to examine how bipartisan cooperation can be achieved in both policymaking and politics.”

To conclude the summit, the BPC will host a barbecue and a charity Wii Competition with local children competing against political consultants and moderators. Proceeds will benefit Tulane"s Devlin Student-Athletes for Education Center for Leadership Development.

One of the goals of the BPC and its founders, former Senator Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, is to demonstrate that consensus and principled compromise can be achieved on difficult issues when policy differences are debated in a thoughtful and constructive manner. The BPC is currently conducting projects in the areas of health care, energy, national security, transportation, science, financial services and homeland security. For more information about the BPC and its Inaugural Political Summit, please visit: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org