As the Republican National Convention convenes in St. Paul on September 1, the University of Minnesota and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs is creating the premier forum for independent and respected analysis and commentary during the Convention.

America’s Future: Conversations about Politics and Policy during the 2008 Republican National Convention will offer a series of public forums on the presidential election and American politics and a wide range of domestic and foreign policies.

Speakers, panelists, and moderators during the coming week include:

· Former New York Governor George Pataki
· Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and former Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Slade Gorton (R-WA),
· U.S. Representatives John Boozman (R-AR), John Mica (R-FL)
· Former CIA director James Woolsey
· Reagan NSA adviser Bud McFarlane
· Ambassadors Andrew S. Natsios, and Honourable Michael Wilson (Canadian Ambassador to the U.S.)
· David Frum, E.J. Dionne, and Ray Suarez of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
· Charlie Cook, Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center, Larry Sabato, and Stuart Rothenberg
· Notable Minnesota political figures: Mayor Chris Coleman, and former Congressmen Vin Weber and Tim Penny

Seating for forums is limited. Please tune in to all RNC forums through live internet broadcasting beginning Monday morning.

Monday’s schedule:

7:00 AM. Registration – Continental Breakfast

8:00 AM. Welcome and Program Outline

8:15 AM. Panel A: Faith and Politics
· Richard Land, President, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist
Convention
· Steven Waldman, Co-founder, CEO and Editor, Beliefnet.com
· Jim Wallis, Editor, Sojourners
· Moderator: Krista Tippett, Host and Producer, Speaking of Faith, American Public Media

9:30 AM. Break

9:45 AM. Panel B: Climate Change and Energy Security
Cosponsored with UN Foundation Better World Fund
· J. Michael Davis, Assistant Laboratory Director, Energy and Environment, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (former Assistant Secretary of Energy under President George H.W. Bush)
· Robert C. (Bud) McFarlane, President, McFarlane Associates, Inc. (former National Security Advisor to President Reagan)
· George E. Pataki, Chairman, Pataki-Cahill Group (former Governor of New York)
· R. James Woolsey, Venture Partner, VantagePoint Venture Partners (former Director of Central Intelligence under President Clinton)
· Moderator: Reid Detchon, Executive Director, Energy and Climate, United Nations Foundation

11:15 AM. Break

11:30 AM. Panel C: The Future of U.S. Foreign Assistance: Effective Development and National Security
Cosponsored with Oxfam America and The German Marshall Fund of the United States
· U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR), Member, U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
· Richard Fontaine, Foreign Policy Advisor, McCain ‘08
· Jim Kolbe, Senior Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States
· Ambassador Andrew S. Natsios, Distinguished Professor in Practice of Diplomacy, Georgetown University
· Raymond Offenheiser, President, Oxfam America
· Vin Weber, Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy and Partner, Clark and Weinstock
· Honourable Michael Wilson, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
· Introductory comments: J. Brian Atwood, Dean, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
· Moderator: Matthew McLean, Vice President, Millennium Challenge Corporation

1:00 PM. Lunch

2:15 PM. Panel D: Conservatism Today
· Ross Douthat, Associate Editor, The Atlantic
· Mickey Edwards, Lecturer, Princeton University and Director, Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership
· David Frum, Contributing Editor, National Review Online and Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
· Moderator: E.J. Dionne, Jr., Columnist, Washington Post and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

3:30 PM. Conclude

Posted in Energy, Environment, Religion

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