After a week of some too chilly days and uncooperative ice flows (though things are now warming) in Washington, Tucson is paradise. Tonight I saw the stars — all of them, well, lots of them — and a great sunset on a 70 degree evening from the Skyline Country Club where I enjoyed a very interesting evening with about 110 members of the Tucson Committee on Foreign Relations.
These committees which are in many cities of the United States — all networked together in an organization called the American Committees on Foreign Relations — are packed with retired military, foreign service officers and ambassadors, and academics as well as folks just interested in the world. The political orientation, while representing every complexion of the political establishment, is mostly fixed on just being engaged, interested, and hoping for debate.
I enjoyed an interview tonight on KUAT-Channel 6 PBS tonight on a show called Arizona Illustrated with host Bill Buckmaster. We talked politics, and you can watch the clip here if you like. I liked the exchange quite a bit.
Bill referred to my blog as one of the top ten in the country — when it is really on Congressional Quarterly‘s top ten in Washington political circles, but who’s counting.
And following are a couple of television clips from encounters I had earlier in the week about politics, the internet and blogging on France 24 — sort of France’s answer to CNN.
I really enjoyed this too — though my co-panelists — Derek Thomson, editor-in-chief at France 24.com, Guillaume Payre, and Jerome Guillet — earned my envy as they got to walk off the stage into Paris, and I was in Washington. Here is the segment on “Politics and the Internet.”
And then here is a second segment that ran on France 24 more specifically on “Blogs and Politics.”
Just submitted for your interest.
I really apologize to the Tucson students and bloggers who contacted me wanting a coffee session. Regrettably I have to catch a 6 am flight back to DC, but I really wish I could hang out and see the big rodeo festival and talk Tucson blogs with some of you. The annual rodeo here combined with a golf extravaganza including Tiger Woods and some other golf stars has taken every available room in the city tomorrow and through the weekend.
I fly back to Washington tomorrow — and will try to report more on the Chuck Hagel dinner I helped organize the other night and more on what I have learned about Iran’s May 2003 offer to the U.S. suggesting comprehensive negotiations.
More later.
— Steve Clemons
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