Obama

3.5 out of 12 — That is the score the Electronic Frontier Foundation gave President Obama’s highly anticipated address on NSA spying last week. And while lauding Obama for recognizing the dangers of government surveillance and the importance of discussing it, Washington University in St. Louis privacy law expert Neil Richards agrees that the president did not quite go far enough to protect individual privacy.

Hailed by some as the “end of race as we know it” and the beginning of a “post-racial” America, the 2008 election of Barack Obama sparked a measurable bump in feelings of political empowerment among black Americans. But those sentiments have faded considerably over the last year or so, according to a new analysis of political survey data, with the sharpest declines in perceived political power coming among blacks who identify themselves as conservatives or “born again” Christians.​

Frank FlinnNotre Dame University’s decision to invite President Obama to deliver the university’s commencement address on Sunday has sparked strong protests from groups who disagree with Obama’s stand on abortion and stem cell research. Despite condemnation of Obama’s speech by a number of prominent American bishops, the Vatican may be more interested in moderation and conciliation in its dealings with Obama, suggests Frank K. Flinn, a close observer of religious politics and author of the Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007).

Olin Business School professor Jackson Nickerson says, “ChangeCasting” is the best way for presidents and CEOs to build trust, create understanding and enact change with all of their constituents and employees. Nickerson’s ChangeCasting is a new web-based approach to communication that allows executives to lead and accelerate change within their organizations. It opens up a two-way street between the corner office and employees at every level of a company.

Magarian”No evidence exists of any serious threat of voter fraud, at present or in any recent election cycle,” says Greg Magarian, J.D., election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. The current cries of ‘fraud’ focus on the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a public interest organization that advocates for low- and moderate- income and minority citizens. “Filing false registration forms does not constitute voter fraud,” he says. “Voter fraud requires voting by a person who is not legally entitled to vote. That is a difficult trick to pull off, and simply turning in a registration form for ‘Captain Crunch’ does almost nothing to enable it.”

Beginning Sept. 30, anyone entering the debate security zone will be required to display a credential authorized by the Commission on Presidential Debates and the U.S. Secret Service. These CPD/Secret Service (USSS) credentials will be available for pick-up on a daily basis beginning at 2 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Media Welcome Center on the third floor of the Laboratory Sciences Building. Visit here for parking directions, locator maps and the latest updates on credentialing logistics.

The following FAQ are based on the best and most current information available. All information is subject to change without notice. Media should check the media information section of the debate Web site for the latest updates and additions. If you have questions about this document, or would like to suggest the addition of a […]

LowryThe President’s call to end a decades-old ban on offshore oil and gas drilling highlighted key differences in the big-oil platforms of presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees Obama and McCain, suggests William Lowry, a WUSTL expert on the politics of environmental and energy issues.

President Bush’s call this week for Congress to end its decades-old ban on offshore oil and gas drilling has highlighted key differences in the big-oil platforms of presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees Barak Obama and John McCain, suggests William Lowry, an expert on the politics of environmental and energy issues at Washington University in St. Louis.

Observing that the current presidential campaign is becoming “hyper-racial,” a noted linguist and African American studies expert at Washington University in St. Louis suggests voters participate in a “linguistic thought experiment” to determine the extent that candidates are able to discuss race or gender on the campaign trail.