Author and Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. Leads Political Discussion

You never know on a given Monday morning who might drop in on a Lewis & Clark classroom and review the latest political developments with undergraduates, especially with a political scientist like Associate Professor Robert Eisinger on the faculty.

Eisinger—whose classes frequently connect with political scientists, leaders, and pundits via speaker phone—e-mailed political science majors over a recent weekend announcing that he had made last-minute arrangements for a classroom visit by E.J. Dionne Jr., who was in the area for another speaking engagement. Dionne, the author of Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right and Why Americans Hate Politics and a syndicated political columnist, spent more than an hour talking with a dozen students and a handful of faculty members.

Among the topics covered during the coffee-fueled exchange were the nuances of the presidential election polls, the evolving debate over abortion, the future of the religious right, and the momentous nature of this year’s election.

Dionne said the 2008 presidential contest might turn out as pivotal as the history-altering elections of 1932 and 1980.

“We’ve hit the end of an era, where people have decided that a whole set of principles doesn’t work anymore,” Dionne said. He argued that the less-regulation, less-government philosophy of the conservative era is clearly “out the window” in an election season that finds a Republican administration advocating massive government intervention in the financial system, with the support of many GOP leaders in Congress.

Dionne, who argues in his latest book and other writings that the era of the religious right is over, acknowledged that Sarah Palin’s emergence—and religious conservatives’ enthusiasm for her vice presidential nomination—has probably slowed the decline of politically conservative evangelicals in the political arena. But he said that decline is inevitable nonetheless, especially in view of a mounting body of polling data showing a sharp disconnect between young and old-guard evangelicals on political and social issues.

Dionne clearly delighted in his exchanges with the assembled Lewis & Clark students, asking each to state his or her name, hometown, and career plans. When one announced his intention to “change the world,” Dionne quipped, “Great, it needs it.”

As the Washington-based pundit made clear, Eisinger is hardly his only close connection to Lewis & Clark. Ben Brysacz, a senior majoring in political science who was at the event, has interned for Dionne. “I want my kids to grow up to vote for Ben some day,” Dionne said.