University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 6) # # # ## # # # JOE ATKINSON # ## # # # # ## # # # # # # ## # # # # # ELECTION CONNECTIONS # CONNECTIONS # # # # # # # # # # # ## # It was a scene unlike anything Evansville had seen in decades: Roberts Municipal Stadium filled to the rafters; John Mellencamp – for once not the evening’s main attraction – jamming on the stage; residents waving cardboard placards; news crews from around the country and the world lining the stadium floor; in one corner, Robert Dion, a UE associate professor of political science, doing an interview with CBS national news; in another, Wes Milner, the UE Igleheart Chair in Political Science, talking to a WTVWFox 7 reporter. The crowd erupted as Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel took the stage to introduce the evening’s main event. Then, finally, the man himself – Barack Obama, soon-to-be presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, spoke to the audience. “It was pretty exciting to see Roberts Stadium crammed with people like that,” Dion said. “All of the world news was there; every channel and newspaper story had an Evansville dateline that night. It really was an amazing evening.” For about a month this spring, Indiana was the center of America’s political universe, as senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) vied for the Democratic presidential nomination. With the Republican nomination firmly in the grip of Arizona Senator John McCain, everyone was focused on the matchup in Indiana, and Evansville saw visits from more presidential candidates and their surrogates this year than any time in the last half century. # 6 # # # # ## # # # # ## # # “Because of Indiana’s late primary, usually everything is over and done with before we even get to vote,” Dion said, “but this year’s process took much longer. Indiana did not change anything, but because of the drawn-out battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Indiana’s primary became critical to the process.” Dion would know. Since coming to the University of Evansville in 2001, he has become the regional expert on elections, the media’s go-to guy for all things political. He has been quoted by every area news medium; his commentary is standard in articles by the Associated Press and the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, and – because of his fluent French – on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s reports about American politics. He even took part in weekly election discussions on Canadian radio during the 2004 cycle. So when April rolled around, and Hillary Clinton announced her first visit to Evansville, Dion’s telephone began ringing. It continued to ring as Clinton made two visits to Evansville, Obama made two visits, former President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Caroline Kennedy, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright took a revolving door through Evansville. “It was crazy there for a while,” Dion said. “I spoke to USA Today, British newspaper the Guardian, Le Monde, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Newark Star-Ledger, ABC, and CBS national news. I remember getting calls from friends in places like Iowa when I was on CBS, telling me, ‘We saw you on the news tonight!’” UE was in the middle of the fray in other ways as well. In late April – less than two weeks before the primary – former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright came to the University to stump for Hillary Clinton. In her speech, Albright shared her experiences and expertise in foreign policy, using her observations to push Clinton as the best candidate to more than 200 members of the UE and Evansville communities in the audience. UE MAGAZINE/FALL # # ## # ## # # # #008# 2 # # #
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 Table of Contents Campus Connections Election Connections Where Are They Now? Stanley Says Aces A Program to Bank On Campaign Connections New Connections Alumni Connections University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 (Page Cover1) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 (Page Cover2) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Table of Contents (Page 1) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campus Connections (Page 2) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campus Connections (Page 3) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campus Connections (Page 4) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campus Connections (Page 5) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Election Connections (Page 6) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Election Connections (Page 7) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Election Connections (Page 8) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Where Are They Now? (Page 9) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Stanley Says Aces A Program to Bank On (Page 10) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Stanley Says Aces A Program to Bank On (Page 11) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campaign Connections (Page 12) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Campaign Connections (Page 13) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - New Connections (Page 14) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - New Connections (Page 15) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 16) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 17) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 18) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 19) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 20) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 21) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 22) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 23) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 24) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 25) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 26) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 27) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page 28) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page Cover3) University of Evansville Magazine - Fall 2008 - Alumni Connections (Page Cover4)
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