In the first of this year’s Kaleidoscope All-School Meetings (ASM), Dee Dee Myers, who served as former President Bill Clinton’s Press Secretary and is author of “Why Women Should Rule the World,” offered a Democratic perspective on this year’s presidential election.
The two-week Kaleidoscope ASM program brings two speakers with opposing viewpoints to campus to expose students to diverse opinions on a controversial issue. This year’s Kaleidoscope program focused on politics.
Next week, Jeb Bush ’71, former Governor of Florida, will offer his views as a Republican in the second installment of the Kaleidoscope program.
In her speech, Myers, the first female and second youngest White House Press Secretary ever, defended her belief in the Democratic party, stating that liberals have better tax, health care, economic and national security policies. She supports liberal legislature that protects child laborers, workplace safety, voting and marriage rights and health care for seniors.
“We do better when we don’t leave people behind. We do better when we reach out and tap the talent of every single one of us. We shouldn’t discard a population because they’re having a hard time or they weren’t born in the right place. Let’s give them a chance, maybe a second chance, because what they can bring is in all our interests and will make us all stronger,” said Myers in her speech.
“The Democratic party takes governing more seriously. It has better governing philosophy, better policies, more experience and a more intentional approach to governing that’s more productive,” she continued.
Myers stressed that all students should take an active part in politics.
“You have to take your own interest and what is in the interest of the community you want to be a part of. If you don’t speak up, someone else’s voice will fill that void, and it’s probably not what you want,” said Myers.
After the ASM, Myers was available for a question and answer session over lunch with students and faculty.
During the Q&A, Myers emphasized the need for bipartisan solutions. Politicians on both sides, especially Republicans, Myers said, often refuse to look objectively at solutions for national issues.
Myers said that there are two major forces fueling the polarization of politics. First, the downturn of the economy has driven people to form extreme opinions. Second, the convergence of people with the same political opinions to the same areas of the country has created overwhelmingly red or blue states, has left few swing states and has made bipartisan compromise imprudent for politicians.
One area that requires bipartisan compromise is in management of the national debt, according to Myers. Liberals and conservatives tend to clash over methods of balancing the budget. Democrats usually support increases in taxes, whereas Republicans favor spending cuts.
The best solution is one that combines both methods, such as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also called the Simpson-Bowles commission, which would have cut $4 trillion in spending and increased taxes, according to Myers.
Myers said that diversity is key to successful decision making both in government and in general.
“There’s a study that said that diverse groups of decision-makers often are most successful. Whether it’s socioeconomic, gender, racial or ethnic diversity. You could take the smartest five white guys, and put them in a room, and when they get to a place, they tend to all get stuck in the same place. The same thing would happen if you took five Kenyan women, it’s that people who see the world the same often get stuck in the same place,” said Myers at the lunch.
What Myers describes as the “horse race” and event-driven nature of the media exacerbates the polarization of politics. Myers said that distrust and bias in media spreads misinformation about politics and political candidates, engendering poor decision making.
“At the turn of the last century, in the 1900s, there were maybe 25 or 26 or 27 daily newspapers in New York. And every single one of them had a different point on the ideological spectrum. And if you were really conservative, you read one paper, if you were progressive or socialist you read another paper. Everyone’s stuck in their own channel, in their own lane, and they didn’t branch out. We’re back in that kind of place where you have red facts and blue facts… People who watch FOX News don’t believe the facts they hear on CNBC,” said Myers at the lunch.
Myers defended President Barack Obama’s foreign policy position in the Middle East.
“We could have propped up the Mubarak regime in Egypt. They had been an ally for more than 30 years; they had been our partner in the Middle East for years, but the popular will of the people was that they had had enough of that. It was stifling the economy, [and] people didn’t have opportunity. So the President decided that we had to be on the side whose aspirations are for a democracy,” said Myers at the lunch.
During the lunch, she also defended Obamacare.
“With the individual mandate, if everyone’s in, insurance companies can no longer deny care for children or adults who have a preexisting condition, and you guys [Andover students] will be able to stay on your parents’ policies until you’re 26. So, if you want to start a business, and your parents are willing to keep you on their policy, you can do that. But all these good things can’t happen without the mandate,” she said.
Myers’s speech prompted differing reactions from students.
“[Myers] thoughtfully portrayed the Democratic value of protecting those who haven’t succeeded and need a helping hand. This election is about the future, not a referendum or a discussion of the past, which can’t be changed. She will undoubtedly be a stark contrast to Jeb Bush. She spoke well on behalf of Democrats and made her beliefs on social equity and fairness a cornerstone of her speech,” said Tyler Olkowski ’13, President of PA Democrats Club, who introduced Myers at the ASM.
“[Myers was] well-spoken and intelligent…. However, she was a bit too respectful towards her Republican counterparts. I just wish she would have brought more fire,” said Mark Meyer ’13, President of the Republican Society.
“Her speech could have been more well-received by the Andover community had she not immediately spoken so negatively about the Republicans. She seemed very dismissive of the Republicans, but as a whole she did a good job of keeping the ideals she believes in and getting them across to the audience,” said Kate Wincek ’14.
In 1992, Myers became the first female and the second youngest White House Press Secretary at the age of 31 under the administration of President Clinton.
“I was given the title of that job, but a smaller salary, a smaller office and a lower rank. It was tough. I had to fight to earn the authority that a press secretary has… ingrained into their job. I think it happens to women, that we are given more responsibility but less authority,” she continued.
Myers was born in Quonset Point, RI, but grew up in Valencia, CA. Myers’ interest in politics began during her time at Santa Clara University, from which she graduated in 1983.
After her work in the White House, she served as a consultant for NBC’s “The West Wing” and held the position of liberal chair on “Equal Time”, a CNBC political talk show. Today, she is a political analyst and commentator and contributing editor to “Vanity Fair.”
Rani Iyer contributed reporting.
