Perino offered commentary on the present and upcoming political climate. Samuel Joseph/The Ram
By Kevin Curran
“Always help someone out, even if they don’t know you’re doing it,” said Dana Perino, former press secretary for the Bush administration. She offered this philosophy to the Fordham community Thursday, Oct. 23, at an event hosted by the College Republicans at Keating third. Students were given the opportunity to hear Perino’s ideas and stories from her time as a press secretary in the Bush administration as well as her experience as current co-host of The Five on Fox News.
Perino offered personal stories and anecdotes from the Bush administration and her own “meandering journey to where [she is] now.” However, she made clear that the brevity of this portion was by design. Instead, her talk stuck to the key elements of current policy.
“Policy debates are not about good versus evil, but about Americans who have different ideas on how things should get done,” Perino said. “Americanism is tempered by the frontier spirit…America must continue to lead in the world.”
The audience begged the question of which person Perino saw leading the “frontier nation” come 2016. Perino reminded people of the 2008 election in which the front-runners at this early stage were Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton.
Though acknoweldging that forecasting elections is no exact science, she predicted that Hillary Clinton will likely take the Democratic ticket. With regards to her former employing party, she was a bit more cryptic. She only offered a famous William Buckley quote, saying, “We must elect the most conservative candidate that can win”.
Though the Republican party has spent the past six years struggling with a bicameral Congress under a Democratic president, Perino is hopeful about the upcoming elections in regards to the potential for conservative leadership.
“There is a lot to like about the upcoming elections if you are a Republican,” she said. “The Republicans should be able to win the house, and we have an unliked president.”
Her remarks suggest that she has confidence in whoever runs as the Republican candidate.
After the talk the College Republicans had a lot to say about her presentation. President Benjamin Shull, FCRH ’16, in particular was quite complimentary of Perino.
“We love having journalistic types give talks because they have a knack for storytelling and keeping things interesting,” Shull said. “I think she definitely did not disappoint.”
Dana Perino was on the radar for the College Republicans for some time as well, according to Shull.
“The College Republicans have been looking to book more female speakers recently, and we think Ms. Perino, being a woman in a unique position, offered a great perspective we don’t often see,” he said.
With the general election only a week away, Perino’s remarks and predictions have added a lot to the conversation, especially for the young voters at Fordham when they enter the booths to cast their votes.
