By Tom Niblock M.P.A. '09

Tuesday evening, November 4, over 200 Woodrow Wilson School students and faculty packed Robertson Hall's Dodds Auditorium and Shultz Dining Room to listen to an expert panel comment on the incoming results, watch election returns as they were broadcast, eat pizza, and celebrate election night as part of a special event hosted by WWS, the School's Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (CSDP) and the Woodrow Wilson Political Network.

The evening began with a panel discussion of the election and its implications for America’s future.  Panelists included Nolan McCarty, Associate Dean of WWS and a Professor of Politics and Public Affairs; Larry Bartels, CSDP Director and a Professor of Politics and Public Affairs; Professor of Politics Christopher Achen; and former Congressman James Leach ‘64, the School’s John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs Visiting Professor.

The panelists discussed a wide variety of issues relating to the election, including the effects of increased voter turnout, the limits of forecasting models, and the inner workings of election news coverage in the media, particularly television.  Looking forward, they also examined the possibility of a fundamental realignment in U.S. politics and changes that a new president could make in domestic and foreign policy.

The panelists, talking as returns only started to trickle in from around the country, were confident that Sen. Barack Obama would win the presidency, but some students were still unsure.  “I’m not as confident as the panelists,” said Benny Padilla, a second-year M.P.A. student. “But [Obama] has a good chance.”

Despite early indications of Sen. Obama’s success, expectations remained tempered throughout the evening.  “[Obama winning Pennsylvania] did not seal the election,” said Ph.D. candidate Richard Chiburis, an Obama supporter, moments after CNN projected his victory there.  “We still need other states.” Still, Chiburis remained optimistic.  “It’s a good sign that it was called early.”

Nearly all the students present appeared to support Obama, sporting t-shirts, hats, and buttons with the candidate’s name and the campaign’s slogans and logo. In fact, several had woken up early on Tuesday morning to drive to Pennsylvania and volunteer for the campaign before their morning classes.  They said they walked through quiet neighborhoods identified by the campaign, hanging cards on door handles to remind residents to vote.

First-year M.P.A. student Morgan Courtney had a different take on the election.  “I like [Sen. John] McCain, he represents change within the party.”  As the night wore on she remained hopeful, even as the television screens continued to show gains by Obama.  “Whether he wins or loses, the party wins.  I just hope Virginia stays red.”

She was not the only student to take a special interest in her home state.  Second-year M.P.A. student Jonathon Kent predicted, “So goes Iowa, so goes the presidency,” over an hour before the results were announced in Kent’s home state.

The presidential race was not the only election on the students’ minds.  Congressional races were closely tracked, as well.  For example, during the panel one participant brought up the possibility that the Democrats could win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  When combined with a Democratic president, it would greatly enhance the party’s ability to forward its policy agenda.

Some students were unsettled by these prospects.  “Divided government is better, especially when there is ideological homogeneity in the dominant party,” said first-year M.P.A. student Matt Jacobs.  “In the period of the New Deal and Great Society, certain powerful Democrats were willing to buck the party line.  The few conservative Democrats in office today are solidly under [Speaker of the House Nancy] Pelosi’s control.  There are no intra-party checks and balances.”

While the students spent the evening learning about elections, Woodrow Wilson School alumni across the country were having great success with their own campaigns.  Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels M.P.A. ’71 won re-election over his opponent Jill Long Thompson.  New Jersey State Senate minority leader Leonard Lance M.P.A. ‘82 defeated Linda Stender in New Jersey’s 7th District Congressional race, while Oregon State Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley M.P.A. ’82 is, as of this writing, currently running a close race against incumbent Gordon Smith for his Oregon Senate seat.