By Shannon Lukens.
Seminars at Steamboat had a very powerful and timely speaker Monday night with Nancy Gibbs, former TIME Editor-In-Chief, and professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. The topic was “Policy Issues Driving the Presidential Election.” It was a packed house at Strings to hear Gibbs speak on politics and the upcoming election.
She said not to believe in political predictions. She said to build information resilience on our sources and she stressed to get involved yourself in the political process because civic engagement is important.
“I think there are lots of ways people can get involved. They can run for office. They can work for candidates who are running for office. Certainly learn what their local candidates are saying. Volunteer. Sign up people to vote. Be sure they vote themselves. And support their local news.”
She added that there is no quick and easy fix for rebuilding our country. She said not to treat politics as a hobby, but treat it as a calling as there is an enormous amount at stake.
Gibbs shared a lot of slides and political cartoons to explain the current political environment. Here are some pictures of a few. One example is “The Past is not Prologue.” Her observations on that:
- Until yesterday, this was a campaign without precedent.
- This was supposed to be the first rematch since 1956.
- Two incumbents for the first time since 1888; 100% name I.D.
- The third race for Donald Trump.
- The first convicted felon.
- The two oldest candidates ever.
- First assassination attempt since Ronald Reagan.
- Despite what you’ve heard, a fluid electorate.
Other points she made are that swing voters are the ones who will matter. She showed a slide from The Washington Post that said “Biden-Trump rematch dread verges on denial for some voters,” adding that only one third of voters thought a Trump-Biden rematch would definitely happen.
Another slide spoke about, “The Economy is great. Why are Americans in such a rotten mood?” It spoke about housing and higher rent and mortgage rates causing a strain on households, “Referred Pain” which includes dissatisfaction over the Middle East, Culture Wars, and the border. It also said there is a Partisan Economic Expectations Gap. “More than half of Republicans and Democrats rated their personal situation as excellent or good, but only 5% of Republicans said that about the economy as a whole, compared with 58% of Democrats.
Regarding the debate, she said the televised debate in June was to somehow change the narrative. Substantial numbers in both parties thought President Biden was too old to run in 2024. But it didn’t matter in 2020 because he said he was a “transitional president.”
Gibbs said the Republicans wanted the campaign to be about one thing: strong vs. weak. She said there has been a scripted set of events by the Trump campaign managers.
The Democrats’ goal is to make the election all about Trump.
Regarding President Biden’s age, she said “People tend to have extremely personal and direct and painful experiences dealing with people they love who are getting older.” She said it hits families deeply.
This slide said elections are not rewards, they are about the future.
Other comments from Gibbs:
There have been decades of rising political animosity
Party identity has become the church that people belonged to.
Those in the middle rarely make political posts on social media.
What is driving division? Many people (60%) live in a landslide county with a majority of one party or another. They don’t know people who disagree with them to hear a different perspective. There is a decline in organized religion, community connection, civil society, and volunteer groups. She says division is being driven by binary thinking, which is favoring absolutes in a complex world. Other reasons are “uncertainty is a sign of weakness vs. curiosity and courage,” and also the “need for in-group approval.”
She spoke of Sunday’s announcement that President Biden will not be running. MSNBC said it was a “selfless act of patriotism, like George Washington,” and that Biden was a hero who put his country first. Fox News covered the same story saying, “Did Joe even know? Where is he?” and that it is a criminal coverup, the Democratic party is in total chaos and will do anything to win, and that Joe Biden was “forced out by the Deep State.” The Fox News coverage also stated that Kamala Harris is a “Vice President who is not legally allowed to become president.”
Gibbs said there will always be the story of this campaign as it plays out.
She again said the events are the same but the story is different on different television networks. We’re not arguing whether it’s true but how we figure out it is true or not. She added that we watched what happened Jan 6. in Washington DC. and we watched the subsequent jury trials. How do people describe that day? Is it a violent divide or a patriotic interaction? “We can’t even agree on that.”
She said the one comment she never hears is that, “the outcome in November doesn’t really matter.”
She described the “financial apocalypse of the media.” What is driving engagement? You have to pay to reach a publication online. This is why the country is losing newspapers.
She said the country very much needs two strong functioning parties. And that she looks forward to seeing, “Will Trumpism live on?’
Finally she added, “Look for candidates who answer questions that are affecting our lives. Let’s award and champion and incentivize our leaders who actually make a difference in people’s lives. “
From Seminars at Steamboat: Gibbs is an author, speaker, and presidential historian and commentator on politics and values in the United States. She joined TIME magazine as a part-time fact checker in 1983 and rose to come its Editor-in-Chief in 2013, the first woman to hold the position. She was one of the most published writers in the history of the magazine and wrote more cover stories than anyone else at TIME. Under her leadership, TIME’s digital audience expanded from 25 to 55 million and its video streams to more than one billion a year.
She remained at TIME as Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Director until Sept. 2017, directing its news and feature coverage for more than 65 million readers worldwide. She was also a consultant to CBS News and an essayist for the News Hour on PBS, and co-authored with Michael Duffy two best-selling presidential histories: The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity (2012), and The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House (2007).
She has interviewed five U.S. presidents and multiple other world leaders, and lectures often on the American presidency, including at the Bush, Reagan, Carter, Johnson, and Truman libraries.
In September 2017, while remaining at Editor-at-Large at TIME, she stepped down from her post as Editor-in-Chief and became Visiting Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. In 2019, she was additionally named Lombard Director of the Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center in Media, Politics, and Public Policy.
There are two Seminars at Steamboat remaining this summer.
Monday, Aug. 5
The Monday, Aug. 5, speaker is Robert Daly, the director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States in Washington D.C. He’ll discuss “Confronting an Increasingly Aggressive China.” All seminars are nonpartisan and free to the public, at 5:30 p.m. on Monday night at Strings Pavilion.
Monday, Aug. 12
The Monday, Aug. 12, speaker is Zvi Mowshowitz, and Artificial Intelligence writer and expert from New York City. He’ll discuss “AI and Our Future: Public Policy Dimensions.” All seminars are nonpartisan and free to the public, at 5:30 p.m. on Monday night at Strings Pavilion.