Debating the Presidential Race

In an on-campus debate Wednesday night, Harold Ford, chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, and Michael Steele, chair of a Republican Political Action Committee, GOPAC, seemed to agree as much as they disagreed on issues facing the next president.

The debate between the two prominent African-American legislators, TV commentators and long-time friends focused on such topics as environmental policy, foreign policy, racial politics and campaign finance reform, as well as the ongoing presidential race.

The forum, held before a few hundred people in Page Auditorium, was moderated by Michael Schoenfeld, Duke's vice president of public affairs and government relations. Sponsors for the event included the Duke University Union Major Speakers, the new Hart Leadership Connect 2Politics program, the Black Student Alliance, and the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.

When asked about the economy, Steele, a regular on FOX News, said he would tell the next president not to "panic. Don't do anything stupid. My advice is to temper the process to the extent that you need to. Recognize who your global partners are."

Ford, seen regularly on MSNBC, agreed, adding he believes another stimulus package needs to be passed before the next president is inaugurated. The package should consist of a rebate check like many Americans received last summer, aid to struggling state governments and funding to improve infrastructure. He cautioned that the next president should not blame anyone for the economic mess, saying there is plenty of blame to go around.

The two men disagreed, however, on how the next president should handle foreign affairs. Steele said there is little international support for helping the U.S. get out of Iraq. Ford said it is in the best interest of the French and British to work with the U.S.

"We need to implore other world leaders to support us in getting out of Iraq," Ford said. "Over the past eight years, we have dismissed our allies. Our economy is the force and fuel for the world economy. It's in the best interest of the French and British to work with us. I think we have extraordinary leverage with them."

Steele took issue with Obama's willingness to have conversations with America's enemies without conditions, calling it an "equalization of our enemies" and a "wrong-headed approach."

The two agreed that off-shore drilling cannot be the only solution for America's energy needs.

"Why don't we convene the people who study this -- the scientists, environmentalists, economists?" Steele asked, saying energy bills in Congress have been filled with earmarks or pork. "I want a consensus of people who know what they're doing. I don't think either candidate will do anything [to reform energy policy]. It's up to the people. -- Oil is king until we de-throne it."

Ford said progress has been made because both presidential candidates accept the science around climate change. He suggested the next president lead by example and drive a hybrid or electric vehicle. He also said he gets in trouble with his party by suggesting alternate solutions such as clean-coal energy and nuclear energy.

"That all sounds good," said Steele, "but it's not happening. -- We're going to be having this conversation four, eight years from now," just as we did during the gas shortage of the 1970s.

Countered Ford, "If you think this is not possible, McCain is your guy. If you believe four years from now that we can be in a different place, give Obama a chance."