Political pundits Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein to discuss 2004 elections, Nov. 4

Two of the nation’s most recognized political commentators, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, will discuss prospects for the 2004 presidential election in a public forum from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Laboratory Sciences Building at Washington University in St. Louis.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, takes place on Election Day — exactly one year before the 2004 presidential elections. It is sponsored by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. For more information, contact Melinda Warren at (314) 935-5652; warren@wc.wustl.edu; or visit the Weidenbaum Center website at http://wc.wustl.edu.

“Ornstein and Mann are two of Washington’s most insightful observers of American national politics,” said Steven S. Smith, director of the Weidenbaum Center and the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences. “They both are political scientists committed to good government and a strong democracy, they are prolific authors and often write together, they are frequent collaborators with members of Congress on political reform, and they are frequent guests on national television and radio programs.”

Biographical Information:

Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann is one of the country’s leading authorities on the American presidency and on contemporary American politics. Mann currently is the W. Averell Harriman Senior Fellow in American Governance, at the Brookings Institution. From 1987 to 1999, he served as the Director of the Governmental Studies Program, at Brookings. Mann previously served as the Executive Director of the American Political Science Association. A frequent lecturer both in the US and abroad, he is currently working on projects addressing campaign finance reform, the transition from campaigning to governing, and the future of Internet voting. He is the author or co-author of a number of recent books including: Intensive Care: How Congress Shapes Health Policy; Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook; and Congress, the Press, and the Public.

Norman Ornstein
Norman Ornstein

Norman J. Ornstein is a Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He also serves as an election analyst for CBS News. In addition, Ornstein writes regularly for USA Today as a member of its Board of Contributors and writes a column called “Congress Inside Out” for Roll Call newspaper. In 1997-98, he was co-chair, with Leslie Moonves, President of CBS Television, of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters. He is currently leading a coalition of scholars and others in a major effort to reform the campaign financing system. He is also co-directing a multi-year effort, called the Transition to Governing Project, to create a better climate for governing in the era of the permanent campaign. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and of the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.