McLaughlin Group: A Weekly Tradition for over 25 years J
Justification and rationale

The “group” players represent some of this country’s (and the world’s) biggest names in current political thought. It is a big deal to get on this show. The program has been on the air for over twenty-four years and apart from its four or five “Washington DC Insider” regulars, it also often has a very influential guest that fills the “fifth seat.” I have been watching this show since I was a snotty-nosed kid back in the 1980s…I use to watch it with my dad and he use to say that it was “the best @#$#@$ show on Television!” Then when I went to Gustavus College to study among other things, political science, we were required to watch the show and to then come prepared to discuss its contents in class. Therefore, in this long-standing tradition, we will watch this very important political show on most Mondays during the course. You will be expected to actively view the show and take notes on the major issues discussed. You will also be expected and encouraged to form your own opinions on these important timely political issues and to, of course, ask me any questions you may have about what they are talking (or arguing) about. I will provide a form or template from which you can use to take notes and make personal comments. Place these weekly forms in your three ringed binder and I will from time to time collect them and distribute points based . You will have the opportunity to earn points for keeping these completed forms in your binder.
The regulars are as follows:
John McLaughlin is the creator. From 1981 to 1989, Dr. McLaughlin was Washington editor and columnist for the National Review. His monthly column, "From Washington Straight," provided readers with the inside story on politics and world affairs from the nation's capital. Before his broadcasting career, Dr. McLaughlin served as a speechwriter and special assistant to Presidents Nixon and Ford, and was associate editor of America, a weekly opinion journal. He also taught and lectured throughout the U.S. and abroad. John McLaughlin holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University, and two Master's degrees from Boston College [http://www.mclaughlin.com/]. In my opinion, McLaughlin does good job of remaining comparatively objective in terms of his world/political views. When Clinton was president, I thought he was a conservative…but now with Bush, he seems to be a little “left’ for center…you will need to decide for yourself.
Eleanor Clift is a contributing editor for Newsweek. She regularly reports on the White House, Congress and the diverse personalities who make up the Washington power structure. Clift became Newsweek's White House Correspondent when Jimmy Carter was elected and held the position through Ronald Reagan’s first term. In 1985, she left Newsweek to cover the Reagan administration for the Los Angeles Times. A year later she returned to Newsweek and a new assignment as the magazine’s congressional and political correspondent, a position which she held for six years. After Clinton’s election in 1992, Clift returned to the White House beat for the first two years of the Clinton administration.Clift is also a political analyst for the Fox News Network. She has appeared on many national television shows, including ABC's Nightline and Good Morning America, NBC’s The Today Show, CNN's Crossfire and PBS’s The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Playing herself - as a member of The McLaughlin Group - Clift has appeared in several films, including Independence Day, Rising Sun, Murder at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and Dave, as well as the CBS series, Murphy Brown [http://www.mclaughlin.com/]. As you will clearly come to understand, Eleanor is a liberal in all aspects. She despises President Bush and will 99% of the time disagree with Pat Buchanan and Tony Blankley. Newsweek is considered to be a “centralist” publication.
For seven years, Tony Blankley served as press secretary to then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. In that role, he not only helped create messages which shook the country, he also helped create policy. Working for the most renowned Speaker in decades, Blankley became one of the leading spokesmen for the Contract with America. Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Reagan as a speechwriter and senior policy analyst. After leaving Gingrich’s office in February 1997, Blankley joined the staff of John F. Kennedy Jr.’s George magazine. As a contributing editor, Blankley’s monthly column "Between the Lines" featured his inside-the-beltway insights. Blankley also appears regularly on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, as well as CNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Rivera Live, The News with Brian Williams and MSNBC. In June 1999, Blankley joined The Washington Times as a weekly political columnist. In June 2002, he was named editorial page editor. His opinions and analysis of political events have been featured on the front pages of The New York Times, USA Today, and other major publications, and he was a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.
Pat Buchanan was an early supporter of Richard Nixon's political comeback, and in 1966 began working as an advisor to Nixon's presidential campaign, primarily as an opposition researcher. After leaving the White House, he returned to his column and began regular appearances as a host and commentator on various television debate programs, including The McLaughlin Group and CNN's Crossfire . Buchanan returned to the White House in 1985, serving until 1987 as White House Communications Director for the Ronald Reagan administration. Buchanan has run for president three times on a platform of economic nationalism, immigration reduction, and social conservatism, including opposition to multiculturalism, abortion, and gay rights. Buchanan refers to himself as a "traditional conservative, "in contrast to today's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Buchanan]. Conservative, but does not like Bush.
Mortimer B. Zuckerman is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report and is the publisher of the New York Daily News. He is also the founder and Chairman of Boston Properties, Inc. Mr. Zuckerman is a graduate of McGill University, McGill Law School, The Wharton Graduate School of Business and the Harvard Law School. He is a trustee of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, New York University, the Aspen Institute, the Hole in the Wall Gang Fund, Inc. and the Center for Communications. He is also a member of the J.P. Morgan National Advisory Board, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Washington Institute for Near East Studies and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He is a former Associate Professor of City & Regional Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a former lecturer of City and Regional Planning at Yale, and a past president of the Board of Trustees of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Hard-core conservative with a world view. Big supporter of Israel.

McLaughlin Group:
A Template for Personal Note-taking
&
Commentary

Name: ____________________ Date: __________________

Issue #1: [Summarize the main focus of the issue]:




What is the liberal perspective from the panel [ie Ms. Cliff and others “left of center”]?




What is the conservative perspective from the panel [ie Blankley and Buchanan]?



What is McLaughlin’s view on this issue?



What do you think? Take a position and explain



Any other perspective? Is the debate balanced? Is there a solution?
Issue #2: [Summarize the main focus of the issue]:




What is the liberal perspective from the panel [ie Ms. Cliff and others “left of center”]?




What is the conservative perspective from the panel [ie Blankley and Buchanan]?





What is McLaughlin’s view on this issue?




What do you think? Take a position and explain:






Any other perspective? Is the debate balanced? Is there a solution


Issue #3: [Summarize the main focus of the issue]:



What is the liberal perspective from the panel [ie Ms. Cliff and others “left of center”]?





What is the conservative perspective from the panel [ie Blankley and Buchanan]?





What is McLaughlin’s view on this issue?






What do you think? Take a position and explain:







Any other perspective? Is the debate balanced? Is there a solution?

Issue #4 [Summarize the main focus of the issue]:






What is the liberal perspective from the panel [ie Ms. Cliff and others “left of center”]?



What is the conservative perspective from the panel [ie Blankley and Buchanan]?






What is McLaughlin’s view on this issue?




What do you think? Take a position and explain:









Any other perspective? Is the debate balanced? Is there a solution?