On Wednesday November 6th the Schwarzenegger Institute, in partnership with the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, co-hosted the 10th and final Students Talk Back lunch panel discussion of the semester. The event was an incredible success with a large number of students attending the event. Peter Baker, White House Correspondent, The New York Times and Author, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Terry McCarthy, President and CEO, Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and student Annalise Mantz, Editor-in-Chief, USC Daily Trojan, gave an in-depth analysis of the Obama administration and the Bush administration while also discussing each Presidents’ style of dealing with the conflicts in the Syria and Iraq. Peter was able to give the audience a comprehensive perspective of not only the Obama and Bush administrations, but also on each Presidents’ personality and style of leadership. Terry gave insight on details regarding the thinking behind and then the consequences of Bush’s actions in Iraq and Obama’s actions with Syria. He pointed out that it is clear that Obama is taking a more bilateral approach to his dealing with the Middle East than Bush did, but reiterated that there are pros and cons to both style of leadership.
The “Students Talk Back” lunch speaker series furthers our Institutes commitment to student engagement, bringing relevant policy issues and thought leaders to campus to engage in meaningful dialogue with our USC community.