The following Boston University experts are available to offer commentary, analysis and insight into tonight’s prime-time speech by President Obama on troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
Charles Dunbar is a professor of international relations and a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen. He can be reached at 617-353-5633, cfdunbar@bu.edu
Tom Whalen is an associate professor of Social Sciences. He is an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency. He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-4785, tjw64@bu.edu
In the third installment of our series "Campaign 2012," our experts weigh in on some of the remaining GOP hopefuls for the presidency: Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Rudi Guiliani, and Sarah Palin. The experts are Tom Whalen, Cornelius Hurley, and Tobe Berkovitz.
"Withdrawing military forces at the end of wars in which the enemy has not been defeated is arguably the most difficult mission of all. The dangers of being attacked as the troops depart increases substantially.
"If violence escalates during the draw down, the White House may well be under pressure to hasten the timetable for pulling out altogether.
"This will probably be the greatest security policy challenge that Obama will face, all the more challenging since it will begin in the middle of an election year."
Jon Huntsman, former US ambassador to China and former governor of Utah, will officially announce his candidacy for president today. In today's installment of our series "Campaign 2012," our experts offer their analysis on what he brings to the GOP field. The experts are:
Tom Whalen, an associate professor of Social Sciences; an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency; a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-4785; tjw64@bu.edu
Tobe Berkovitz, an associate professor of Advertising; an expert on media strategy and political advertising. He can be reached at 617-353-7742, tobetv@bu.edu
The first installment of "Campaign 2012" can be read here.
The Supreme Court blocked a sexual discrimination case brought on behalf of 1.6 million female employees against Wal-mart. Boston University School of Law professor Michael Harper, a leading authority in the area of labor and employment law, offers the following comment:
"The unanimous part of the decision was persuasive and totally predictable from the day the litigation was first brought. It was simply bad public-interest lawyering to frame the class action as it was framed.
"The result was some very troublesome language in the 5-4 part of Justice Scalia's decision, language that could make the litigation of even well-framed Title VII class actions more difficult in the future.
"Five of the justices clearly were hostile to the case on the merits and joined in a broad decision to avoid a remand. This is the unfortunate result of over reaching by the plaintiffs' lawyers."
Today, Professor Voices kicks off a new occasional series called "Campaign 2012" which will run until election day November 2012. We've pulled together several Boston University experts who will give their views on key issues of the campaign. We've asked our first group of experts to weigh in on the current field of GOP hopefuls for the nomination for president. The experts are:
Tom Whalen is an associate professor of Social Sciences. He is an expert on modern American politics and the American presidency. He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 617-353-4785, tjw64@bu.edu
Tobe Berkovitz is an associate professor of Advertising. He is an expert on media strategy and political advertising. He can be reached at 617-353-7742, tobetv@bu.edu
"This is a personal tragedy and one that Democratic leaders were closely determined should not also be a tragedy for the party. It remains unclear, however, how much this issue mattered to the general public.
"Perhaps one important contrast with conservatives involved in sexual scandals, e.g. Gingrich or Ralph Reed, Weiner did not base his political career attacking permissiveness or immorality in others."
Parliamentary elections will be held in Turkey on June 12 and it is expected that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will win a third term. Jenny B. White, an associate professor of anthropology at Boston University and Director of Undergraduate Studies, is available to offer commentary, insight, and analysis on the upcoming election. She is an expert on sociocultural anthropology, Islam and civil society, and Turkey and the Middle East. She is also the author of "Islamist Mobilization in Turkey: A Study in Vernacular Politics."Professor White also writes a blog called Kamil Pasha: Turkey, and the thoughts and fiction of Jenny White.
Boston University School of Law professor Tamar Frankel is an authority on securities law, corporate governance, and legal ethics. She offers the following comments on a report that regulators are looking into dealings between Goldman Sachs and Libya's sovereign-wealth fund and if any bribery laws were violated:
"So Goldman Sachs is now being examined for various activities with the Libyan regime. The firm has hired an outside counsel, as is its practice, and insists on having done no wrong. It probably did not, in accordance with our laws.
"Many of the enforcement examinations, investigations, and court processes arise after the fact and cost an enormous amount of money, with some results -- but perhaps not as strong as compared to their price.
"Are there better ways to induce giant financial institutions' management to be more self-limiting, even within the law? Perhaps the answer is public opinion. If trust is undermined, financial businesses evaporate. For too long the belief was that if money is made -- no matter how -- public admiration will follow. Could this belief be proven to have changed?"
The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney leading all GOP contenders for the nomination in 2012. Romney is in a dead heat with President Obama with each showing 47%. Those surveyed in the poll gave President Obama low marks for his handling of the economy and the deficit. Boston University professor Graham Wilson is chair of BU's political science department and the author of "Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective." He offers the following comment on the latest poll numbers:
"Romney is the most serious challenger to Obama because he is not extreme. But note that the headline 'Romney leads' is based on support among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. That still leaves Romney the problem of getting past primaries and caucuses in which independents may not participate, depending on state rules."
Parliamentary elections 