E.J. Dionne, Jr. presented the lecture “Our Divided Political Heart: Campaign 2016” on April 13, 2016, in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union.
Syndicated Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. peeled away the sundry layers of the 2016 presidential campaign when he presented the 2015-2016 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Sciences at Iowa State University on April 13, 2016.
Widely admired for his insights into the alarming polarization of our national politics, Dionne regularly debates David Brooks of the New York Times on NPR and appears frequently on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos and MSNBC.
E.J. Dionne, Jr., speaks with Iowa State journalism, political science and leadership studies students about media and the 2016 presidential campaign.[/caption]Dionne provided analysis of the 2016 presidential candidates, the political parties and the road to the White House in a public lecture titled “Our Divided Political Heart: Campaign 2016.”
“We are thrilled that E.J. Dionne delivered the lecture this April,” said Kathleen Manatt, who with her late husband Ambassador Charles T. Manatt established the lecture series in 2002 with Tom and Elizabeth Phelps. “We can think of no more astute observer of the American political scene, who bases his commentary in research and a deep grounding in American political history and culture.”
Dionne’s recent book “Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle of the American Idea in an Age of Discontent” is praised by political commentator Rachel Maddow as an “up-to-the-minute diagnosis of the weird and sudden turn we’ve taken in left-right relations.”
His other books include “Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond,” published in 2016; “Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right,” “Stand Up, Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps, and the Politics of Revenge” and “They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate The Next Political Era.”
Dionne is also known for his coverage and commentary on polling, the role of media in politics and the role of religion in public life.
The Manatt-Phelps lecture was established to bring to campus a prominent practitioner or thought leader to address the community on issues of major significance to the United States and Iowa. “The lecture is intended to serve as a two-way experience – for the ISU community to enrich their awareness of the global political and economic environment and for the lecturer to spend time with Iowa State students and through ISU become somewhat better informed about Iowa,” said Tom Phelps.
From left to right: Beth Phelps, Dean Beate Schmittmann, Tom Phelps, Michele Manatt, Kathy Manatt, E.J. Dionne, Jr., Lissa Villa and Iowa State President Steven Leath.[/caption]Previous Manatt-Phelps lectures have featured distinguished leaders from America’s closest trading partners —Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Canada’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs — and distinguished ambassadors from crucial American allies and friends — France, Germany, India, Spain and Sweden.
From left to right: Beth Phelps, Tom Phelps, Michele Manatt, Kathy Manatt, E.J. Dionne, Jr., Iowa State President Steven Leath and First Lady Janet Leath[/caption]The late Charles Manatt, former U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, gave the first lecture in the series in 2002. Other lecturers have included then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.); then-U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.); and former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.).
