Strauss Center, Center for Politics and Governance Convene Presidential Policy Debate, Oct. 23

October 21, 2008

AUSTIN, Texas — The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and the Center for Politics and Governance present "McCain v. Obama: Competing Visions for America," a town hall-style debate in which supporters from both political parties will examine the presidential candidates' visions for foreign and domestic policy from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Oct. 23 at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. James Lindsay, director of the Strauss Center, and Veronica Stidvent, director of the Center for Politics and Governance, will moderate the panel of John McCain and Barack Obama supporters. The moderators will ask questions of the panelists before opening the floor to audience members. The panel will include:

• Harold Ford Jr., former U.S. representative from Tennessee,
• Lee Feinsten, former director of national security for Hillary Clinton's campaign for President,
• Tod Lindberg, editor of Policy Review, and
• David J. Schenck, lawyer and McCain supporter.

Ford, the LBJ School of Public Affairs Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor, is chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, a visiting professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University and vice chairman of Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc.

Feinstein, a visiting fellow in Foreign Policy at The Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., is an international lawyer and author and an expert on sovereignty and the use of force. Feinstein was principal deputy director of the Policy Planning Staff under U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and was a senior adviser in the office of peacekeeping and peace enforcement policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Lindberg, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, is the author "The Political Teachings of Jesus", a philosophical analysis Jesus' teachings on worldly affairs. Lindberg is also a contributing editor to the Weekly Standard and editor of "Beyond Paradise and Power: Europe, America and the Future of a Troubled Partnership."

Schenck, a partner at Jones Day, has represented a wide range of corporate clients involved in complex litigation and the appeals process. He has successfully argued for reversal of adverse decisions of numerous cases before state and federal courts of appeal across the country. He has also successfully sought review and reversal in several cases before the United States Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court and represented industry and public interest groups as amicus curiae in courts across the country.

For more information, contact: Susan Binford, Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs, 512 232 4006; Strauss Center, 512-471-6267.