Blog Archive » 2008 » January

Following the State of the Union address the other night, I received several great comments from students and alumnae.

Ally Portee, president of College Republicans, who has campaigned for Mitt Romney in several states, offered this comment:

"Even though I was not in the chamber, I along with two Trinity students were on Capitol Hill on Monday night. We attended the State of the Union Party hosted by US Congressman Joe Wilson… We also had the opportunity to meet other members of the House. After the party we were able to view the State of the Union at the Capitol Hill Club across from the Capitol. It was an honor to be able to see you, President McGuire on Fox News along with Speaker Pelosi. It was quite inspiring to see products of Trinity in the House chamber. The State of the Union is a powerful tool for the president to be able to lay out his plan for the coming year. President Bush spoke on issues that deeply concern me like the upcoming stimulus package, taxes, and the war. I was reminded when all members would stand and applaud that we are all Americans, and that we all need to work together for the welfare and safety of this great nation!" Full Article

What an amazing night for Trinity! On Capitol Hill in the House Chamber, there was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Trinity '62, gaveling the joint session of Congress to order and announcing the arrival of the President of the United States. Following the State of the Union Address, from the governor's mansion in Topeka Kansas, there was Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Trinity '70, delivering the Democratic response to a national audience. Up in the Speaker's Gallery, a privileged witness to the proceedings, there was your humble blogger, Trinity's president, absorbing the entire scene with the glee of a frosh Poli-Sci major. Out and about in Congressional offices, Trinity students and alumnae who work on the Hill were watching the proceedings from various vantage points.

Watching a State of the Union event "live" in the gallery is amazing. The moment is Classic Americana, with all of our top government officials gathered in that one place to hear the speech, but also to conduct untold other business informally. From the Speaker's Gallery I could see Senator Barack Obama and Ted Kennedy hugging and greeting other senators and members of Congress — earlier in the day Kennedy endorsed Obama, and so the crowd around them was eager to discuss the moment, I'm sure. Up in the press box, scores of long Canon lenses were trained on the two senators, but then Senator Hillary Clinton entered the chamber and the focus shifted as she chatted up Senator Joe Biden and others.

Suddenly, the Speaker's gavel rang out, and the Supreme Court marched into the chamber in stately robes, followed by the Joint Chiefs resplendent in decorated uniforms, and then the President's Cabinet. Everyone seemed eager to greet Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Finally, the Speaker's gavel banged again and the Sargent-at-Arms announced, "The President of the United States" and the place went wild. Yes, even Democrats cheered — there are times when partisan bickering must be set aside to respect the majesty of office and seriousness of the moment. Of course, the unity of the room didn't last long — State of the Union addresses are notorious for eliciting partisan cheering on one side of the room or the other, and last night was no exception. Full Article

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Trinity Class of 1970, is in vogue. Really! She's in Vogue magazine this month, but even more, she's in vogue politically — chosen by her party's leadership (notably House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trinity '62) to give the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union Address tomorrow, Monday, January 28. Her name is also appearing with increasing frequency as a possible candidate for a national presidential ticket this year or in the next election cycle.

Governor Sebelius is well respected as an amazing political leader, twice elected governor of Kansas — a well known Republican stronghold — even though she is a Democrat. She has been able to build bipartisan coalitions around issues of importance to the people of Kansas. Her cooperative model of governance is something our nation could certainly use! Full Article

"Always take a clean copy of your resume to a job interview."

"Dress for the next job you aspire to have."

"Carry yourself as though you know where you're going."

Cathie Black's wit and workplace wisdom leaps from every page of her bestselling book Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). Cathie's quotations italicized throughout this blog and many other pithy pieces of advice throughout her book are valuable rules for young workers just starting out on their career ladders, and even more experienced professionals who need reminders about the basic rules of working life.

Cathie's triumphant return to Trinity last evening was a marvelous occasion to celebrate the great success of this member of the Class of 1966, and her classmates, alumnae friends and several hundred students turned out in force to meet Cathie, snag copies of the book, and listen to her insights gathered from a long and hugely successful career in publishing. Full Article

International stock markets experienced a shocking drop today, to levels not seen since September 2001. The world economy is sagging badly under the weight of the impending recession in this nation. Investors abroad and at home are signalling a profound lack of confidence in proposals to take immediate steps to improve the situation. Neighbors are losing their homes. Parents are losing their jobs. People — investors, voters, citizens of planet earth — are desperately searching for a leader who can guide us back to balance, to sanity, to peace.

Wouldn't you think that in this perilous global economic moment, the candidates for president of the United States would be focused like laser beams on solving the problem? Tonight, searching for some encouragement on this economic gloom, I turned on the debate among the three leading Democratic candidates in South Carolina. Full Article