In a discussion laced with colorful anecdotes and repartee, two veterans of the Washington, D.C., political scene, faculty members Thomas F. Eagleton, LL.B., and Murray L. Weidenbaum, Ph.D., stood toe-to-toe in Graham Chapel on Oct. 8 to explain why their presidential candidate is the best person for the job.
Weidenbaum, formerly a member of President Reagan's economic team and currently Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the John M. Olin School of Business, presented the case for George Bush. Eagleton, a former U.S. senator and currently University Professor of Public Affairs, also in the business school, gave support for Bill Clinton.
The public gathering was sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs. The crowd of some 500 people was treated to a classic Eagleton-Weidenbaum showdown, in the style that has become known on campus as the "Tom and Murray Show."
As they explored the issues that define the current presidential race -- domestic policy, unemployment, health care, the environment, government spending and foreign policy -- it was clear their opinions on these matters were as different as their speaking styles.
Eagleton, voice booming and arms gesturing, threw down the gauntlet with a clipping from that morning's Wall Street Journal. The article contained an unfavorable report about hostilities among Bush's top advisers. "And these are the people who are going to lead us through four more years?" Eagleton chided. He blasted Bush's domestic policy record, decrying lost jobs and a recessionary economy, and finally asking, "Are we better off today?"
Weidenbaum, more subdued than Eagleton, suggested that his opponent needed a refresher course in American history. The American economy, Weidenbaum noted, has suffered a recession after every major war. "If you look at the published economic forecasts, most say 1993 will be better than '91 or '92. And whoever is in the Oval Office next year will take credit for the recovery," he said.
Launching his own offensive, Weidenbaum discussed Clinton's economic plans, which Clinton calls "Putting People First." Weidenbaum said he's read Clinton's plan, more carefully than the people who wrote it, and he attacked Clinton's domestic economic program as full of faulty arithmetic and double dipping. Weidenbaum refers to the plan as PPF. "The Republicans' secret weapon is to get everyone to read PPF before going to the polls to vote," he said.
After a 10-minute opening statement and rebuttal by each debater, the floor was opened to questions from the audience. Although Eagleton and Weidenbaum painted dramatically different pictures about how the U.S. economy reached its current recession, they agreed that the national budget deficit is too big a challenge for the next president to correct in four years. "Neither Bush nor Clinton will balance the budget," Eagleton said.
A student, citing that most prospective employers have asked her what her weaknesses are, posed the same question to Eagleton and Weidenbaum in regard to their candidates. Answering first, Weidenbaum said President Bush's weakness is his preoccupation with Clinton's track record. "Bush should be more interested in what Clinton plans to do if he is elected," Weidenbaum responded.
Eagleton cautioned that Clinton's weakness appears to be his unrelenting optimism. As the world economy changes, Eagleton said, the candidates must be more candid about the growing pains that lie ahead. "I don't think they've done a good enough job of telling the American people that this is going to be a painful process," he said. "Somewhere along the line there is going to be pain and sacrifice."