George Stephanopoulos speaks to a crowd at Artemus Ham Hall on the campus of UNLV as part of the Barrick Lecture Series on Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 | 10:42 p.m.
George Stephanopoulos, chief Washington correspondent for ABC News and former key adviser to President Bill Clinton, laid out the political dynamics of the moment and surveyed the future in a speech at UNLV’s Artemus Ham Hall Tuesday night.
Stephanopoulos, who was speaking as part of the free Barrick Lecture series, marveled at the immense challenges facing President Barack Obama, as well as the new administration’s bold program.
The host of ABC’s “This Week” said he was surprised so far at how “surreally confident” Obama is, even as he confronts a financial crisis and a series of hotspots around the world.
He said thus far the administration is clearly being led by a now-famous phrase of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
Stephanopoulos recounted the administration’s early legislative victories: A new round of funding for ailing banks, an $800 billion stimulus package, expanded children’s health insurance and a law to enforce gender pay equity.
“That’s only the very tip of his ambition,” he said, referring to the agenda laid out in Obama’s nationally televised budget address before a joint session of Congress last week.
“From this crisis he’s decided to just go all-in,” he said, referring to a poker player putting all his remaining chips on a bet.
Obama urged Congress to reform health care, make America energy independent, curb greenhouse gases, reform education and make higher education an American birthright.
Given the crisis, and the scale of Obama's ambitions, the president could be historic in his achievements and legacy, Stephanopoulos said.
Then he laid out the extreme risks Obama faces.
“I’ve never seen a situation where so many people have so much expertise and so much experience and have so little certainty” about how much worse things could get.
Stephanopoulos warned that the financial crisis, including recent news that insurance giant AIG, now in government receivership, lost $60 billion last quarter, could overwhelm Obama’s agenda.
He said Obama would have to communicate to an outraged public that he gets their anger while also instilling confidence in the financial system.
Stephanopoulos said health care reform was doable in Congress this year because the business community, facing astronomical health care costs, would demand action.
The former Rhodes Scholar also laid out the difficult foreign policy challenges the president faces, starting with the drawdown of troops in Iraq. But then there’s also the escalating war in Afghanistan, which has bled across the border into Pakistan. Add to that an Iran with nuclear ambitions and an explosive drug war in Mexico.
“Any one of these could define a president for a generation. He’s facing them all at the same time.”
Stephanopoulos said the Republican Party is still trying to determine its identity and future, with hardliners like Rush Limbaugh lining up against pragmatic governors, including Charlie Crist of Florida.
More than 1,700 packed the hall, according to UNLV.
Stephanopoulos drew a hearty laugh when he made light of Obama’s statement last month that bankers getting government money shouldn’t be taking trips to Vegas.
“No matter what President Obama says, I thought it was an important time to be in Vegas.”
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy