Friday January 19, 2024
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Meeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
Alternate Room: Kelvin Smith Library Room LL06*
Case Western Reserve University
Dear Colleagues:
Well, welcome to 2024!
He said with a wince. It’s hard to remember a year that has inspired such dread. 1968 was pretty awful and maybe could be anticipated. Riots and Vietnam were already going on. But many years are worse than expected. In 2020 we knew there would be a divisive election but didn’t know about COVID-19. A year ago few would have predicted October 7. If 2024 is worse than expected, oh boy.
We have Ukraine and the erosion of support for its defense both within the United States and Europe. We have the unspeakable horror of Gaza and Israel. We have a budgeting situation that is pretty scary and we can mainly hope that the wolf turns away once more. And then there’s the presidential election…
All of which are Joe Biden’s problems.
Then again, he’s used to it.
We’ll start off the new year, therefore, by asking a question we’ve asked a number of times at the start of the year: how’s the president doing? This year I will offer the overview, on the grounds that I taught our course on the presidency for many years and I have published a lot about one important aspect, presidents and budgeting. Also that I want to think this through for myself. Part of the question is what he has accomplished in policy terms. Another is what he could have been expected to accomplish. A third is how he is doing politically and how much of that is his fault. A fourth, of course, is how his accomplishments and failures might be rewarded or punished in November. Inevitably I will have to comment on what voters expect of presidents, and how that fits or does not fit what presidents can do.
Please join us for what I will try to make an informative discussion!
In-Person and Virtual Attendance
This Friday’s meeting has been moved from the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library to KSL Room LL06. That is on the lower level of KSL, one floor down from the main entrance. If you take the elevator down, you will see a corridor opposite you as you exit, and the entrances to LL06 are on the right hand side of the corridor.
We will return to the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library for our gathering on January 26. We will have to use Mather House 100 on February 2. As far as I know right now, we have the Dampeer Room for the rest of the semester.
We continue also to offer the meetings on Zoom. We do require pre-registering so as to avoid “zoom-bombing.” The pre-registration link is posted below. The discussion begins at 12:30 p.m., but the room should be open no later than Noon. We try to have beverages and refreshments set up soon after that. Participants should be able to sign on to Zoom also by Noon. But please remember not much will be happening online until the talk begins at 12:30 pm. Please also be prepared to show identification when entering Kelvin Smith Library.
Zoom participants should speak up when asked for questions or comments, or submit thoughts through Zoom’s chat function. Please keep yourself muted until you are choosing to speak.
Each week we will send out this newsletter with information about the topic. It will also include a link to register (for free) for the discussion. When you register, you will automatically receive from the Zoom system the link to join the meeting. If you do not get the newsletter, you should also be able to get the information each Monday by checking http://fridaylunch.case.edu Then if you choose you can use the contact form on that website to request the registration link.
This week’s Zoom link for registration is:
https://cwru.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrduChrz8vGNWa6AR9lpj0AarXSgpWUtTJ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Please also e-mail padg@case.edu if you have questions about arrangements or any suggestions. Or call at 216 368-2426 and we’ll try to get back to you.
Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies
About Our Guest
Joe White is organizer of the Public Affairs Discussion Group due to his position as Director of the Center for Policy Studies in CWRU’s College of Arts and Sciences. He holds the Luxenberg Family Professorship in Public Policy with his primary appointment in the Department of Political Science and a secondary appointment in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences.
Dr. White joined our faculty in 2000 and served as Political Science Department Chair from 2003 – 2015. Before coming to CWRU he was an Associate Professor of Health Systems Management at Tulane University, and first Research Associate and then Senior Fellow in the Governmental Studies Program of the Brookings Institution. He earned his A.B. from the University of Chicago and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley, all in political science.
Dr. White’s research focuses especially on both U.S. federal budgeting and health care policy and politics. A lot of his health policy work compares policies across rich democracies. He has authored or co-authored three books, co-edited two, and authored or co-authored 85 articles or book chapters. These include his book with Aaron Wildavsky on budgeting during the Reagan administration, and nine other articles or chapters about presidents and budgeting. His c.v. and a selection of his work can be found at https://policy.case.edu/research/health-care-federal-budget-articles/.
* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.
Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:
January 26: Trump and the (Potential) End of the American Republic. With Timothy Wutrich, Ph.D., Department of Classics.
February 2: The Future of Local Journalism. With Denise Polverine, Publisher, Cleveland Magazine. Alternate Room: Mather House 100
February 9: TBA
February 16: TBA
February 23: TBA
March 1: TBA
March 8: The 2024 Elections. With Colin Swearingen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science, John Carroll University.
March 15: Spring Break
March 22: TBA
March 29: TBA
April 5: TBA
April 12: Conspiracy Theories and Climate Change Skepticism in Europe. With Andreas Sobisch, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science, John Carroll University.
April 19: TBA
April 26: TBA |
