Bill Moyers and Charles Krauthammer discuss Mitt Romney’s chances against President Obama] during Tuesday evening’s Tate Lecture. (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Politics was the topic of the night at the SMU Tate Lecture on Tuesday in McFarlin Auditorium.

Conservative and Pulitzer prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer and Emmy award winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers touched on key aspects in America’s domestic sphere.

Keven Ann Willey, the vice president of The Dallas Morning News and moderator of the event, centered the discussion on two central themes: the upcoming presidential election and the current status of the politic.

Both men critiqued Barack Obama and his policies.

“Obama has become the most imperial president of imperial America. He has his own private drone army and intelligence force,” Moyers said.

For Moyers, who had great aspirations for Obama’s presidency, Obama has failed to deliver.

“He was the apotheosis of 320 years of race relations in America. He had a persona and a vision for the country,” Moyers said. “But, after the healthcare bill, he has had little domestic success.”

Krauthammer spoke out against Obama’s healthcare policy – the administration’s signature piece of legislation.

“The Supreme Court will probably overturn the individual mandate because of the federal government,” he said.
“Obama’s presidency has intruded on the life of the individual.”

Krauthammer went on to state that Obama’s policies have pushed America closer to European social democracy – commonly referred to as socialism in the American political sphere.

“Barack Obama was out to transform America and not amend it. Obama is interested in large things – healthcare, energy and education,” he continued.

However, Moyers asserted that America is far from being a socialist state.

“It is a straw man argument to allude to Europe. I see Obama following the progressive molds of previous Democratic administrations,” he said. “I am the son of one of the poorest white men in Marshall, Texas. But, I benefitted from public services and institutions to become a good American from taxpayers I will never know.”

Both journalists spoke on the polarization of politics. Since the election of Obama, the rise of the Tea Party and the reemergence of social conservatism have resulted in increasing tension between Republicans and Democrats.

“We are having a great national debate – small government versus large government. Two parties are debating on the relationship of the federal government to the states,” Krauthammer said. “But, in more grand terms, we are debating on the relationship between the government and its people.”

Krauthammer encouraged Mitt Romney to capitalize on what he sees as the weakest point in the Democratic platform.
In 2010, grassroots fiscal conservatives won control of the House of Representatives.

With greater power, Republicans have opposed and stopped many of Obama’s legislative appeals on the national budget and security policy.

“2010 was a response to Obama’s government and its ideologies – healthcare and a large stimulus bill,” he said.

“If 2012 could look like 2010 and become a debate on ideas, the Republicans will win,” he said.

However, Moyers warned that it would be difficult for the 2012 presidential election to grow into an ideological debate.

“I think Obama and Romney are two of the weakest candidates to even run in a presidential race,” he said. “And Romney has as little political experience as Obama had when he was running for office.”

Krauthammer echoed this sentiment.

“The primary process has definitely weakened Romney. Six months ago, the GOP was looking like it would win the election. Now, it is fifty-fifty,” he said. “But, Romney can still have a coherent policy that focuses in on small government.”

However, the journalists disagreed on the fiscal platform of the Republican Party.

Moyers disagreed with Krauthammer’s assertion that the Republican Party has a small government platform.

“Both parties have largely increased our national debt. We should not forget that Bush bailed out the banks,” he said.

While both men embraced different political tendencies and stressed different policy points in their discussion, they both encouraged political compromise.

“All major policies in our past were supported, to some degree, by the opposition party.Obama passed the healthcare bill without Republican support,” Krauthammer said.

Throughout the night there was sporadic applause for Krauthammer and Moyers, but no statement received more applause than Moyers’ articulation on moderation – a possible signal of the public’s sentiment towards politics.

“We need compromise and peacemaking and not all out partisan war.”