Photo by Donika Valeva

"It's so bad for the Republicans right now," U.S. Ambassador Michael Ussery said during the second episode of "The Ghastly," held on Nov 10. Ussery, a member republican, was invited to the Red Room to speak about the latest US elections. After eight years of the Bush administration, the United States elected a historic president, he said.

"80-90 percent of the people in the United States wanted change," Ussery said. The five key factors in the elections were the public opinion on current president George W. Bush, the economy, the fundraising, presidential campaigns, and the Latino vote. Two separate, less significant reasons for the outcome of the elections were Iraq and Governor Sarah Palin. Nobody knew who she was and where she came from, Ussery added.

"I don't remember anyone saying we will have an economic crisis before it happened," Ussery said, referring to the economic crisis as a factor in the elections. He added it was not fair to blame the financial downturn on President George W. Bush. Ussery said he hopes for Obama to be successful. Otherwise a permanent decline in the United States could occur, and America would need a lot of time to restore itself as a great power.

Barack Obama's campaign was strategically better and more practically organized than John McCain's, Ussery said. He approved of Obama's financial approach that excluded taking money from the government. While acknowledging Obama as an exceptional campaigner, the guest said the president-elect developed as a leader only during the past year.

Political science professor Robert Phillips Jr., the moderator of the event, known for his Democratic preferences, asked about the future of the Republican Party. Ussery emphasized on the fact that the Republican Party is not in a good condition at the moment. The problem is that the party itself does not have enough moderates, he said. Although the Republican Party is in "big trouble," this is not its worst defeat. One positive factor is that many young Republicans are in Congress now, he added.

When asked about the US foreign policy towards Eastern Europe, Ussery said the Bush administration was much more focused on the region than Obama's will ever be. He added that United States are not that good in foreign policy, "we see in black and white; good and evil."

This second edition of "The Ghastly" was "far more interesting than the first one this year," sophomore Silvana Precup said. She enjoyed hearing a different perspective. First-year student Kate Snesareva said she appreciated the objective point of view that Ussery presented despite the fact that he is a Republican. Ussery is a guest at AUBG for the fifth time.

President Ronald Reagan appointed Ussery as an ambassador to Morocco in 1988. He became the youngest U.S. Ambassador at that time. He also spent 11 years working in Congress. Ussery is now a businessman, having founded eight companies and three non-profit organizations. He served as an international business developer, advising more than 70 major corporations such as General Dynamics, Philips Electronics, and The Washington Times. Between 2003 and 2006, he was the president of the Coordination Council for International Universities. He is also the founder of the American University in Afghanistan.

Comments

Dina Wood (AUBG/ELI 1997-2000)

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How amusing for Ambassador Ussery to think that President Bush even thought of Eastern Europe during his interminable 8 years in office... unless he needed a place to lodge prisoners from Guantonomo to conveniently torture them or wanted more European "allies" to continue his search for WMD in Iraq.. Have we forgotten how wonderfully the Democratic party President Clinton was greeted in Sofia? President -elect Obama actually knows where the countries in Eastern Europe are located-somethi ng the soon to be ex-president Bush never knew.
Hello-Professor Phillips!!!

Saturday 06 December 2008, 23:32

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