GMF and NPR Worldwide are pleased to bring you an audio program featuring Richard L. Berke, Carroll Doherty, and Jonathan Weisman addressing a European audience at the Bavarian state offices in Berlin on November 16.

The program, in which the three discussants give their insights to the issues and topics surrounding the 2008 presidential elections, aired on NPR Worldwide in Europe on Saturday, December 1, and Monday, December 3. More information is available on NPR Worldwide's website.

To listen to the audio, please click on the link below:
NPR Worldwide: One year before the 2008 elections in the United States

From November 13-16, the German Marshall Fund led a tour of speakers in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Berlin entitled "One year before the 2008 elections in the United States."  Three insiders of American politics presented their views on the developments ahead: Richard L. Berke, assistant managing editor for news of The New York Times; Carroll Doherty, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; and Jonathan Weisman, congressional reporter of The Washington Post. Events were held in the four cities with experts from politics, the media and the think tank community. 

Election Tour Podcasts
To listen to podcasts featuring each participant, please click here:
(Additional GMF Audio is available on the Multimedia page)

During the tour, all three speakers emphasized that the U.S. presidential election is still wide open. Despite the latest opinion polls favoring Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side and Rudy Giuliani in the Republican camp, all three warned the audience to not underestimate the possibility of other candidates to gain momentum. The most dominant debates in this year's election campaign are domestic issues such as reforms in health care and education, and a possible economic downturn. In addition to Iraq, other foreign policy issues such as Iran and Global Warming are gaining prominence in the debate. According to Dougherty, Climate Change is an issue that is particularly emphasized on the Democratic side because polls show that this subject is very important to Democratic voters.

The speakers also agreed that the message all candidates are trying to convey to the American public is "Change." Without an incumbent President in the race, and a low approval rate of the current administration, all candidates are trying to establish themselves as a fresh start in American politics. This is easiest for Democrats, although, as Weisman pointed out, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has shown that it is possible to share the party line of an incumbent head of state and still campaign with the idea of change.

Berke predicted a very narrow race for the presidency and pointed out the unpredictability of the campaign. "If anyone tells you today who will be the next presidential candidate or even the next president, don't believe him," he said.