Government & Politics

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the election night coverage.

Journalist S.V. Date is based in Florida where he is Tallahassee bureau chief for The Palm Beach Post. He’ll discuss the recount in Florida for the Presidential election. Date is also the author of the new novel “Smokeout” (Putnam)

Satirist Harry Shearer. He’s the host of NPR’s Le Show. He’s also the author of "It's the Stupidity, Stupid: Why (Some) People hate Clinton and Why the Rest of Us Have to Watch." (The Library of Contemporary Thought, The Ballintine Publishing Group) which came out earlier this year. Today he speaks on the outcome of the presidential election.

Wendy Warren, editor at Philadelphia Daily News discusses covering the election.

Journalist Dana Milbank. A senior writer for the Washington Post, he covered the presidential election for that paper. He talks about the outcome of the presidential election and recounts the pivotal moments in the parties’ campaigns.

Curtis Gans an expert on voter turnout and participation, and the director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, a non-partisan group which analyzes the habits of voters. Gans supports the electoral process. Akhil Amar is Southmayd Chair of Consitutional Law at Yale Law School. He would like to see the electoral college system abolished.

Rob Ritchie, Executive Director of the Center for Voting and Democracy. He’ll discuss non-traditional voting-- such as early voting which is now an option in 13 states. Many states have made it easier to get absentee ballots, and more people than ever are using that option.. In Oregon, all the ballots this year are mail-in.

Christopher Buckley was George Bush Sr.’s speechwriter from 1981-1983 when Bush served as Vice President. The son of William F. Buckley, he is the author of the political satire, "Thank you for Smoking" which poked fun at everything and everyone associated with the tobacco industry- from anti-smoking advocates to tobacco company executives. Buckley is the editor of Forbes’ FYI Magazine. He’ll discuss the presidential campaign from the perspective of a Bush supporter.

Religion scholar Karen Armstrong. She’s the author of the bestselling books “The Battle for God,” “Jerusalem,” and “The History of God.” She’ll discuss the religious history of the Middle East, and the significance of the region to the people there. She’s also written “Islam: A Short History” (Modern Library Chronicles).

Former standup comic and creator and current host of ABC’s “Politically Incorrect,” Bill Maher. On his late-night talk show, Maher invites celebrity guests from all parts of the political spectrum to discuss politics and the issues of the day.

Satirist Al Franken. For 15 years he was a cast member of Saturday Night Live, creating such well-loved characters as Stuart Smalley (author of "I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!"). His bestselling satire, "Why Not Me: The Inside Story of the Making and Unmaking of the Franken Presidency" is now in paperback (Delta). He’s also coordinating producer of this Sunday’s “SNL Presidential Bash 2000.”

Palestinian peace negotiator Hanan Ashrawi (“hahn-NAHN hah-SHROW-ee”). She is a member of the advisory board for the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Bank Middle East and Africa Regions and the UN Research Institute for Social Development. Ashrawi is the author of several publications supporting an independent and self-governing Palestine.

Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab (“dah-ood koo-TAHB”) is the Director at the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. He was the managing editor of Al-Fajr English weekly. He is the recipient of the Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the PEN USA West Freedom to Write Award.

Israeli peace negotiator Uri Savir. He is the Director General at the Peres Center for Peace. A member of the Knesset, he was Chief Israeli Negotiator at the Oslo Peace Accord.

Israeli journalist David Horovitz is the editor of Jerusalem Report, has just released a new book “A Little Too Close to God” (Knopf). It chronicles the last 20 years he’s spent living in Israel. It also examines the ramifications of the country’s history on its culture. He was the recipient of the B’nai B’nai International Award for journalism in 1994.

Journalist Elaine Sciolino. She covered Iran for some 20 years for Newsweek and the New York Times. Her new book “Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran” (Free Press) was just released last month. It illustrates the culture of Iran: its press, its movie industry, its restaurants and homes. She speaks today on Iran’s political position during the Middle East crisis. She is a Senior Writer at the Washington bureau for the New York Times. She lives in Washington, D.C.

Journalist Stan Sesser. He covers the Pacific Rim for The New Yorker. His articles have appeared in the New Yorker, the New Republic and Mother Jones. Sesser has written extensively about Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew.

Singapore’s first prime minister and its current senior minister-- Lee Kuan Yew. A very controversial figure, Lee Kuan Yew formed the People’s Action Party, and won the first Singapore general election in 1959. Since it was granted independence in 1965, Singapore has gone from British colony to Asian economic powerhouse. Yet, its government is often criticized for being too authoritarian and weak on civil liberties. Lee Kuan Yew will talk about his country’s economic success, as well as the criticism about his government’s treatment of its citizens.

A talk about the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, and the history leading up to it with two journalists: first, Danny Rubinstein (“steen”), columnist and member of the editorial board of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. We talk with a Jordanian journalist in the second half of the show.

Journalist Rami Khouri (Rah-me Core-ee) syndicated columnist and former editor of the Jordan Times.