Former MSNBC anchor, campaign correspondent, and CNN talk show host Tucker Carlson energized the student audience at Tuesday night's Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium (MSE) with a unique blend of political humor and personal anecdotes. Carlson spoke generally about his own experiences as an observer and follower of politics for many years, transitioning into his own predictions about the result of this year's ongoing presidential race.
"If you really are a Democrat, no matter how close victory is, you know your party is fully capable in the final moments of screwing it up anyway. You know that despite this extraordinary tailwind [Democrats] could still assume the traditional posture of a circular firing squad and blow it," Carlson said.
As a preface to his polarizing speech about the potential pitfalls awaiting the Democratic Party, Carlson addressed the audience and frankly disclosed his biases.
"I'm not here to harangue you with my own crackpot personal views or ram [them] down your throat. I'm far out there on the libertarian fringe," he said.
Carlson predicted openly that this year's presidential race was for the Democratic Party's taking.
"This is a year in which it will be pretty hard for the Democrats to lose, for reasons that are obvious. The obvious reason is the profound unpopularity of our president. It hurts the brand-Republican. [The terms] 'right' and 'conservative' now all have ugly connotations due to the president's approval rating," he said.
After a few erstwhile jabs at the college political climate that brought cheers from the audience, Carlson launched into the meat of his speech, sharing his own thoughts on the Republican Party's vice-presidential pick.
"I didn't understand the choice; I thought it was reckless bordering on insane. The polls tell us that Sarah Palin is the first VP pick in 48 years to give any kind of substantial benefit to the person who picked him, Carlson joked, adding, "she is really popular among core Republican voters."
Carlson spent considerable time arguing that Hillary Clinton (D-NY), not Democratic nominee Barack Obama (D-IL), was the superior candidate in this year's Democratic presidential primary.
"The one thing that Hillary Clinton said that is indisputably true is that nobody has taken more crap than Hillary Clinton. She has taken abuse that is extraordinarily personal," Carlson said. "Ask yourself, if that was me, how would I respond? The truth is, you'd be in fetal position in tears under the bed, or you'd have moved to Paraguay."
Carlson was quick to attack Clinton's shortfalls as well.
"She woke up every day in the mirror affixed this synthetic smile to her face and said 'I will win.' People didn't like it. It turned them off." However, in her defense, he conceded, "If you really knew who she was, you'd like her."
To illustrate Clinton's personality, he recounted for the audience an encounter a friend had with the senator.
"Brad knows nothing about politics. He's going to Syracuse University in the spring of 1994, walking to the gym. He's walking along. He sees out of the corner of his eye, a black suburban. It's Hillary Clinton going to a rally. 'Wanna come?' She asks. He gave her the finger. She dropped her phone and gave him back the finger and smiled," Carlson said amidst audience laughter.
The audience was enthralled with Carlson's humor, which at times knew no political limits.
"Watching Bush give a speech is like watching a drunk man crossing an icy street. You want him to make it across but he's going to slip on a proposition. Obama's sentence structure is so unbelievably complex. You say to yourself, 'He will never land that sentence grammatically.' and he does. I'm impressed by him in every way," Carlson said.
He then went on to assert that Republican nominee John McCain (R-AZ) is currently being unfairly portrayed by the media.
"One thing you'll hear is that McCain is some sort of right-winger. John McCain is the least ideological person in politics. He's not an intellectual; He's not interested in theories or ideas. McCain is not interested in conservatism. "
As he did with Clinton, Carlson then supported his claims with a personal story from the campaign trail.
"The first question was: so, how do you think you're going to do today. McCain said, 'I don't know,' Carlson said, adding, "his pockets were stuffed with lucky talismans, a bag of lucky feathers. I watched McCain numbers go up and up and up in New Hampshire. I watched him become increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of winning. He couldn't explain it."
During the question-and-answer session after the speech, Carlson explained the importance of citizens challenging each other's views.
"Media has a tendency to reinforce people's prejudices. I think it's really healthy to be in a situation where people challenge your assumptions," he pointed out.
Carlson currently writes for Esquire, The Weekly Standard and the New York Times Magazine. His game show, Do You Trust Me?, is under development with CBS.
