As the presidential race approaches its fall phase, intensified by excitement over vice presidential selections and upcoming party conventions, the media are focusing on the horse race and honing in on missteps—public and private—by both candidates. What substantive coverage there is tends to look at the fine details of the candidates’ issue positions, not at what they might actually achieve within a difficult, partisan, and divisive political and policy environment in Washington—much less how they could manage the executive branch, staff the White House, and operate as commander-in-chief. To take a closer look at how Barack Obama and John McCain would actually lead the nation if elected president, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution will present its third convention panel series, entitled “How Would They Govern?” Panelists who have worked closely with the two candidates and observed them in their previous and current positions will join top political analysts to highlight both Obama and McCain’s past leadership and professional qualities in the context of broader political dynamics.
 
“How Would They Govern?” discussions will be moderated by Norman J. Ornstein of AEI and Thomas E. Mann of the Brookings Institution. Panelists will include Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.); former senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), and Gary Hart (D-Colo.); former representative Abner Mikva (D-Ill.); and reporters David Rogers of Politico, Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Dan Nowicki of the Arizona Republic.

For more information please contact jessica.leval@aei.org or 202-862-5866.