Carville, Lungren Clash Over Election

In a literal face-off Wednesday night, political heavyweights James Carville and Dan Lungren traded barbs about the 2000 elections and partisan politics across the Institute of Politics' (IOP) ARCO forum stage.

The discussion became intense as the two stared each other down, vigorously defending their positions on the issues facing the country in the upcoming elections.

Carville, a Democratic political strategist and a senior adviser to President Clinton, and IOP Fellow Lungren, a former Republican U.S. representative and California attorney general, discussed issues ranging from cynicism in politics to defense spending, based on their parties' stances.

"I knew this would be entertaining," interjected moderator and IOP Fellow Raymond Strother as Carville and Lungren argued about partisanship.

The event began with a discussion of the upcoming presidential election. Carville and Lungren outlined their views on the major candidates and their predictions about their campaigns.

While both believe that Vice President Al Gore '69 and Texas Gov. George W. Bush are poised to win their parties' nominations over former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley and Arizona's John McCain, respectively, both speakers maintained that anything is possible.

Carville hazarded that he thinks McCain will defeat Bush, the Republican frontrunner, in the first New Hampshire primary.

"We have four serious, reasonable candidates," Carville said. "They don't give these things away without a fight. If anyone thinks the race is over, they're in serious trouble."

Carville did not pass up the chance to take a few shots at Bush, saying the candidate was in the dark about foreign policy issues.

"He can't even pass a simple foreign policy quiz," he said.

Carville also jokingly brought up Bush's wild youth.

"The best four years of his life were his sophomore year in college," Carville quipped.

Though Lungren seemed calm during Carville's jokes, the tension between them grew when the discussion turned to more contentious issues such as race relations, the war on drugs and government spending.

The audience question-and-answer format provoked a question on why minority voters would be attracted to the respective parties. In response, Carville pointed to income tax credits and the rise in the minimum wage, while Lungren focused on Republican initiatives against crime and drugs.

Carville, dressed in blue jeans and a tie, was characteristically informal, often pacing around the stage while waiting to respond to Lungren's comments.

Still, the debate quickly returned to sharp retorts. Carville used much of the time to criticize the Republican Party, and Lungren responded by using his history as a member of Congress to outline his beliefs and to confront Carville.

"Instead of calling people idiots, let's try to debate on terms of real issues," Lungren said. "You've got to back up what you are saying. Put your money where your mouth is."

"I think that one side is right and one side is wrong, and that's what politics is all about," Carville responded.

The audience managed to remain lighthearted, though, breaking into laughter several times as both speakers shot comments at each other.

The event ended with the speakers discussing the public's cynicism about American politics and politicians.

"Our country was born out of a healthy skepticism of government, but when that turns into cynicism, the whole political process is corroded," Lungren said. "We need to pay attention to issues and quit demonizing people in politics."

Carville agreed, saying, "We live in a culture where everyone makes fun of politicians. But it ain't as easy as it looks. When things go right, we need give them a little credit."

And despite their agreement that there are major differences in the Republican and Democratic parties, both Lungren and Carville called for more vitality in politics, saying they hoped the elections will combat voter apathy.

"If you feel strongly about politics, you will be partisan," Lungren said. "If you don't feel strongly, get the hell out of the way."