Baker, Zakaria, Gergen (Spencer J Eggers/The Daily Campus)

Former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III and Editor-at-large of TIME Fareed Zakaria kicked off the 30th anniversary of the Tate Lecture Series with a lively discussion regarding the American economy and the biggest issues facing our country today.

David Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN, moderated the discussion in McCord Auditorium Tuesday night.

This is Gergen’s 16th appearance on the Tate Lecture Series circuit.

“Tonight these are difficult times for America and we should start right there,” Gergen said. “Where are we as a nation?”

Gergen’s lead question set the tone for the rest of the discussion. Baker spoke mainly from his extensive political experience, while Zakaria drew from his international background to answer Gergen’s questions.

“I’m very pessimistic about the immediate term, but I am optimistic about the mediate term and the long term,” Baker said.

Despite the serious subject matter, both Zakaria and Baker were able to use humor to get their point across.

“Growing up in India I had fantasies of America,” Zakaria said. “My American dream resembled the opening credits of the TV show ‘Dallas.'”

The focus of the conversation among the panel was dominated by the way the government is handling the economic crisis.

“We have lost the ability to do intelligent policy anymore,” Zakaria said. “It all gets caught up in the big ideology of what government means.”

The speakers helped unpack complicated economic policies for the audience.

“We need to be shifting this economy from an emphasis on consumption to an emphasis on investment,” Zakaria said.

“We cannot continue forever to keep living above our means,” Baker said.

The topic of war also made its way into the forefront.

“We seem to find ways into wars of choice,” Baker said. “I don’t know that we have the luxury of doing this anymore.”

“It completely disorients you as a society,” Zakaria said, arguing instead that America’s focus over the past few years should have been on the economy, not the war on terror.

Arguments from both speakers were met with smatterings of applause and murmurs of agreement throughout the discussion.

“It is very nice to see people who seem so intimately familiar with American politics speak their minds in such a straightforward and honest way,” senior Amanda Koons said. “They answered the questions that are really pressing today in such a way that acknowledged the complexities of our political system while pointing out the areas in which the answers truly should be simple.”

Baker has held senior positions under three U.S. presidents. He began his public service as Under Secretary of Commerce to President Gerald Ford and served President Ronald Reagan as Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury. He was also Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush.

Zakaria serves as the editor-at-large for TIME magazine. He also writes a regular column for The Washington Post and hosts a weekly foreign affairs program “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN worldwide.

Gergen has served as adviser to four U.S. presidents. He currently is a senior political analyst on CNN. He also is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.