Matalin, Carville entertain audience

Annenberg School for Communication Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson likened them to Wylie Coyote and the Road Runner. But instead of employing oversized slingshots and rocket-propelled roller-skates, husband-and-wife political strategists Mary Matalin and James Carville amused a full house with their rhetorical antics Friday night in Harrison Auditorium. In 1992, Matalin -- who currently co-hosts CNBC's Equal Time -- served as deputy campaign manager for former President George Bush, while Carville, now a partner in the consulting firm of Carville & Begala, engineered Bill Clinton's electoral triumph. The pair, who were married shortly after the campaign concluded, were brought to campus by Connaissance. Wearing a leopard-print dress, with suede platform shoes adding a few inches to her petite frame, Matalin established the evening's raucous tone as soon as she took the podium. She launched into a critique of the prevailing American political climate with a discussion of how she and Carville "cemented" their relationship during Harris Wofford's 1992 Pennsylvania Senate race. "We're still in the goo-goo stage," she said. But her affection for her husband did not stop Matalin from hurling criticisms of every type at Carville, winning hearty laughter from the audience. "I didn't know what he would wear, but I knew it would be at least six inches too short," she said, characterizing Carville's staid khaki pants as "clamdiggers." Citing Jamieson's books and scholarship repeatedly, Matalin said that the connection between political coverage by the press and public cynicism has been strengthened in recent years by changes in the media's role. "The media is presumed in a democracy to be an unbiased source," she said. "The way the media gives us information is widely responsible for giving us cynicism. "The media today is serving as a political institution -- elections revolve around it," Matalin added. "[But] what makes a good story and good copy is antithetical to what makes democracy and good government." Matalin also said she thinks the "mainstream press" will be obsolete in 1996 if it does not correct trends such as a "bad-news" bias and a tendency to focus on strategy rather than substantive issues. "The nature of politics, the very nature of democracy, is about conflict," she said. "The press today is focusing on the clash and not the ideas." Carville spoke from a separate podium, sending the approximately 800 students in attendance into hysterics again with descriptions of his hometown. "The place I came from was so far in the sticks we had to pipe sunshine in," he said in a characteristic Louisiana drawl, instructing the crowd on how to identify "country bumpkins" like himself. Carville also lampooned United States Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, who resigned her post last week after her position on teaching masturbation in schools became controversial. "That's one subject I could've gotten an A in," he said, alluding to the fact that he received 56 hours of F's as an undergraduate at Louisiana State University. Following their prepared remarks, Matalin and Carville entertained questions from audience members. Connaissance Chairperson Jesus Guerrero, a College senior, said he "couldn't have been happier" about the turnout for and reaction to Matalin and Carville, despite their $26,500 price tag. "We just felt we needed some more time with them, but otherwise it was great," he said.

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