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National Political Analyst Michael Barone to Speak at the USD School of Law

SAN DIEGO, October 26, 2009 – The University of San Diego School of Law is pleased to announce the sixth annual presentation of the Joan E. Bowes-James Madison Distinguished Speaker Series. In a keynote address titled, “American Politics: Are We in a New Era?,” senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, contributor on Fox News Channel and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Michael Barone will discuss how politics have changed in Washington since the Democratic Party’s recent majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the election of President Barak Obama.

The lecture will be held on Monday, November 9, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at the Peace & Justice Theatre inside the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, located at 5998 Alcalá Park off Linda Vista Road. Admission is free of charge but reservations are required by Wednesday, November 4, and can be made by calling (619) 260-6848 or e-mailing usdlawevent@sandiego.edu. Media who wish to attend may contact Patrick Riedling at (619) 260-4207 or patrick.riedling@sandiego.edu for details.

Michael Barone is senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, a contributor on FOX News Channel and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Barone grew up in Detroit and Birmingham, Michigan. He graduated from Harvard College (1966) and Yale Law School (1969), and was an editor of the Harvard Crimson and the Yale Law Journal.

Barone served as law clerk to Judge Wade H. McCree, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1969 to 1971. From 1974 to 1981 he was a vice president of the polling firm of Peter D. Hart Research Associates. From 1981 to 1988 he was a member of the editorial page staff of the Washington Post. From 1989 to 1996 and again from 1998 to 2009, he was a senior writer with U.S. News & World Report. From 1996 to 1998 he was a senior staff editor at Reader’s Digest.

Barone is the principal co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, published by National Journal every two years. The first edition appeared in 1971, and the 20th edition, The Almanac of American Politics 2006, will appear in the summer of 2009. He is also the author of Our Country: The Shaping of America from Roosevelt to Reagan (Free Press, 1990), The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again (Regnery, 2001; paperback edition, July 2006), Hard America, Soft America: Competition vs. Coddling and the Competition for the Nation’s Future (Crown Forum, 2004; paperback edition, 2005) and Our First Revolution: The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America’s Founding Fathers (Crown Forum, 2007).

Over the years he has written for many other publications in the United States and several other countries, including the Economist, the Times Literary Supplement and the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Times of London. His column is syndicated by Creators Syndicate.

Barone lives in Washington, D.C. He has traveled to all 50 states and all 435 congressional districts. He has also traveled to 37 foreign countries and has reported on recent elections in Britain, Italy, Russia and Mexico.

About the Joan E. Bowes-James Madison Distinguished Speakers Series
Longtime La Jolla resident and civic activist, Joan E. Bowes, continued her family’s passion for learning by establishing the Joan E. Bowes-James Madison Distinguished Speaker Series through the University of San Diego School of Law. Established in 2004, the series is designed to inspire law students and other members of the San Diego community and promote the open exchange of ideas.

About the University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law is a center of academic excellence focused on preparing its students for legal practice in the new century. One of the most selective law schools in the country, the School of Law’s nationally recognized faculty create a demanding, yet welcoming environment that emphasizes individualized education. USD law school graduates consistently score higher than the state average on the California Bar Exam and go on to practice law throughout the country and abroad, forming an influential network of alumni. USD School of Law is one of only 81 law schools in the country to have a chapter of the Order of the Coif, the most distinguished rank of American law schools. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.