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No doubt, historians will still be arguing about the achievements and failures of the Obama administration well into the next century. But as President Obama has moved into his third year in the White House, the Center for American Progress and the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University are hosting a symposium to review the president’s first two years—what was accomplished, what was left undone, and what problems emerged that may influence events in the remainder of this term and the president’s prospect for a second term.
Much of the discussion will focus on analysis provided by a recently published book, Obama in Office, edited by Professor James Thurber of American University and contributed to by Senior Fellow Scott Lilly of the Center for American Progress.
Copies of Obama in Office will be available for purchase at the event.
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Welcoming remarks:
Sarah Rosen Wartell, Executive Vice President, Center for American Progress
James A. Thurber, University Distinguished Professor of Government; Founder and Director, Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University
9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Assessing Obama’s Foreign and Defense Policy
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress
Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Director, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland
10:35 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Assessing Obama’s Communication Strategy and Domestic Policy
Ron Elving, Senior Washington Editor, NPR News
Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
11:25 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Has President Obama Changed the Way Washington Works? Obama, Lobbyists, Women, and Managing the Executive Branch
James A. Thurber, University Distinguished Professor of Government; Founder and Director, Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University
Jennifer Lawless, Professor of Government; Director of the Women and Politics Institute, American University
Beryl Radin, Scholar in Residence, Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University
12:20 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Concluding remarks:
Scott Lilly and James A. Thurber