There was angst among the five national political journalist who gathered on Oct. 6 in Johnson Chapel to share their insights into the presidential campaign.
"Is this the end?” asked moderator Tim Murphy of Mother Jones after introducing the panel. “Is this the craziest election we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes or is this just the beginning and the new normal?"
The panel’s answers to those questions—for what President Biddy Martin also described as “at the very least, an unusual presidential election season”—focused on what the journalists perceived as a complete overturn of traditional politics and a resulting gap between experts and the electorate.
With 33 days to go before the election, all five panelists agreed that the current political cycle signals a sea change in the U.S. political landscape.
Julia Ioffe of Politico Magazine, Abby Phillip of The Washington Post, Jessica Taylor of National Public Radio and Byron Tau of The Wall Street Journal pointed variously to divisive partisanship, traditional media caught flat-footed by electoral changes, and a campaign by Donald Trump that Ioffe likened to the avant-garde Dada movement. [continue reading]