Newsroom Archive for 10/21, 2008

Sorensen's Bob Gibson writes a guest column for the Charlottesville Daily Progress. In the most recent edition, Bob commented on the state of political discourse:

Politics is pretty testy right now.

Campaigns these days are too often run by hit-and-run consultants who know how to draw blood.

Campaigns have become nasty endurance events in which consultants and managers play “hide the candidate” more often than they let him or her face the press in a free flow of questions. The idea is to not make mistakes and not to show too many cards. The press gets reduced to shouting questions and playing gotcha.

The winners have an opportunity via redistricting to draw less ideologically skewed or partisan-based districts if the public really demands such change. An appreciation of the potential of public service for all Americans, not just those on a base, can fix what is not so good about our politics today.

People are willing to embrace the mission of bringing more civility to the political process, infusing our politics with more bipartisan policy discussion and to teaching civics and ethics in an age of cynicism.

No matter how far apart people appear to be, they can find common ground if they look for it.

It’s a good time to hunt.

Click here to read the entire column.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU in Washington focused for one full hour today on the Sorensen Institute. Guests included Bob Gibson, State Advisory Board member and former Virginia Delegate Paul Harris, and current member of the House of Delegates and Sorensen graduate Margi Vanderhye (PLP 2006, CTP 2005). This first part of the program profiled the work of the Sorensen Instiute and explored Virginia politics.

Here's the second half of the Kojo Namdi Show from this afternoon. The conversation continued to explore the political scene in Virginia—with a focus on transportation. Kojo and his guests also discussed the ways that Sorensen graduates can help reach across the aisle to forge solutions to the public policy challenges Virginia faces.