ISERP Panel Series on the 2008 Presidential Election

ISERP Panel Series on the 2008 Presidential Election

In anticipation of the 2008 presidential election, ISERP has launched a series of public forums on the key issues at stake in the presidential race. The first two events in the series provided a venue for people to discuss the overall election picture. Future events will hone in on specific substantive issues, such as health, economic and tax policy, and foreign policy.

Amid critical primaries taking place across the nation, the first panel featured leading Columbia political scientists and public opinion experts Robert Erikson, Andrew Gelman, and Robert Shapiro, who analyzed general election trends, discussing historical patterns and debunking some commonly held misperceptions about voting behavior in the process.

The second panel assembled a diverse group of experts from academia, politics, and the media to discuss the changing nature of political campaigning. Panelists included Jefrey Pollock, President of Global Strategy Group and an advisor to former presidential contender John Edwards, former Washington Post journalist Thomas Edsall (Journalism), and Todd Gitlin (Journalism). Robert Shapiro (Political Science) moderated the panel.

Visit www.iserp.columbia.edu to learn more.