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FeedAspen’s National Pulpit
Photos by Nora Feller
Some of the world’s leading political figures have frequented Aspen during the past half century. Paul Nitze, Robert McNamara, Henry Catto, Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia and former Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan are among those who have or have had homes here. Bill Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, Gary Hart, the Kennedy family and many other politicos are regular visitors, while numerous foreign dignitaries, heads of state and royal houses of Europe have been here to ski, socialize and connect. Jesse Jackson and John Kerry have campaigned in Aspen, and John Sununu came as a paid private speaker, as politicians frequently do for power-broker gatherings such as the annual Forstmann/Little conference.
Above and beyond all that, the Aspen Institute has been the primary attraction for such luminaries as Adlai Stevenson, Jimmy Carter, former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Black Panther founder Bobby Seale, Colin Powell, Alan Greenspan, Brent Scowcroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and then-President George H. W. Bush in tandem with his British counterpart, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, among many others. Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine and current head of the Institute, talked candidly with Aspen Sojourner about the political elite the Institute hosts here.
Aspen Sojourner: We’ve noticed that the level of political discourse at the Aspen Institute’s IdeasFest often occurs at a more erudite and frank level than it does nationally. Why do you think that is?
Walter Isaacson: I’m astonished by how candid and thoughtful the discussions are here. Karl Rove and Colin Powell had a great discourse on Iraq and Valerie Plame at the 2007 IdeasFest. Obama, McCain and both Clintons have all been here, and their discussions have been far more thoughtful than when you hear them on the stump or on TV debates. The core mission of the Aspen Institute is to create a common ground where people can rise above partisanship. You don’t score points here by doing sound-bite attacks. You score points by having a thoughtful dialogue. In 2005, we had McCain, Lieberman and Obama here. Instead of attacking, they played off of each other’s ideas. When you’re onstage at the Institute looking at the audience and you notice that Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell are sitting next to each other, it’s an incentive to engage in intelligent discourse and not partisan games. And this isn’t new. This has been the mission since Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar were leaders in the Aspen Strategy Group talking about a bipartisan way to secure the loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union.
Aspen Sojourner: Given that higher level of discourse and the braininess of the audience, do politicians use IdeasFest as a sounding board to determine, or at least hone the
message of, platform and policy positions?
Walter Isaacson: Tommy Thompson, during his brief campaign for president, said that he wanted to try out some of his ideas here to see how they were received by thoughtful people. Last summer, Newt Gingrich was clearly testing the grounds to see what approach he should take if he was going to run for president. He floated the entire idea of overhauling America’s healthcare system. He was positioning himself away from his partisan reputation and positioning himself as a policy person. John McCain did it with his dialogue with Joe Lieberman. He emphasized his environmentalism as well as his belief we should stay in Iraq.
We try to emphasize non-partisanship at the Aspen Institute. John Danforth got an award for non-partisanship last year. When you’re at a place that celebrates non-partisanship, you tend to have those traits. And this goes back to the Aspen Strategy Group, where Republicans and Democrats could discuss strategy here in a non-partisan way.
Aspen Sojourner: The Institute obviously has a positive effect on discourse. Do you think the town of Aspen has anything to do with that? From Bill Clinton wandering into the Belly Up to Colin Powell strolling around town, people just seem more at ease here.
Walter Isaacson: Clearly, you’re more relaxed in the mountains. It’s less formal and more personal, and you get to engage without that protective shell of protocol and hierarchy that exist in Washington. That’s why people such as like King Abdullah II of Jordan and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have decided to come here this summer. It’s a chance for them to discuss the Middle East in a relaxed setting, rather than at a place like the U.N. General Assembly. People know they’re not engaged in a partisan debate or a game of gotcha. The world would be a better place if we moved the U.N. to Aspen.
Aspen Sojourner: Do you really mean that?
Walter Isaacson: Yes, but I’m not sure Aspen would be a better place.
