Nancy Benac reports on Obama's Cairo speech in which he tried to explain the American mindset to Muslims and the world of Islam to Americans. Various experts comment on the speech, including WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields.

References:

1. June 6, 2009 — Analysis: Obama tries evenhanded approach in the Associated Press

and 51 others.

The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words. The catchphrase burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is fading away, slowly if not deliberately being replaced by a new administration bent on repairing the U.S. image among Muslim nations. Includes comments by WUSTL English and American culture studies professor Wayne Fields, who is an expert on presidential rhetoric.

References:

1. Feb. 1, 2009 — Under Obama, 'war on terror' catchphrase fading in the Associated Press

and 18 others.

The Center for a New American Security, a small think tank here with generally middle-of-the-road policy views, is rapidly emerging as a top farm team for the incoming Obama administration. Includes comments by WUSTL economics professor Murray Weidenbaum, who wrote a book on Washington think tanks.

References:

1. Nov. 16, 2008 — Obama Dips Into Think Tank for Talent in the The Wall Street Journal online

The Chicago Tribune magazine story on the conflict between Darwin and theology. Ursula Goodenough professor of biology comments on the conflict.

References:

1. Jan. 20, 2008 — The New Theology in the Chicago Tribune magazine

WUSTL American culture studies Professor Wayne Fields comments on President Bush's recent Mideast trip. "President Bush believes in a religion of dramatic revelations — his conversion and 9/11 being the most notable — in which a person's life is transformed or the world is changed," said WUSTL American culture studies professor Wayne Fields. "These moments ... are the sources of the important 'truths' which inform his understanding of life and shape his behavior as well as his rhetoric."

References:

1. Jan. 11, 2008 — A faith-based stop for the president in the Chicago Tribune

and 1 others.

In 1984 and again in 1999, the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most eminent scientific organization, produced books on the evidence supporting the theory of evolution and arguing against the introduction of creationism or other religious alternatives in public school science classes. Barbara A. Schaal, a vice president of the academy and an evolutionary biologist at WUSTL, comments on the third volume recently published.

References:

1. Jan. 4, 2008 — Evolution Book Sees No Science-Religion Gap in the The New York Times

and 6 others.

Every summer for the past eight years, WUSTL anthropologist Michael Frachetti has come to the desert steppe that rolls like endless yellow waves across this expansive Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan searching for evidence of a vast, connected nomadic society.
His work concerns Bronze Age nomads, and his scholarship is aimed purely at a historical understanding of how a preliterate society functioned more than 3,000 years ago. But his work coincides with a geopolitical reality that has important implications for American foreign policy makers: many of the countries that most trouble the West -- like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia -- have government institutions that reflect a nomadic past.

References:

1. Aug. 8, 2007 — Ancient Nomads Offer Insights to Modern Crises in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

House Democrats propose a measure to require that U.S. troops be withdrawn from Iraq by fall of 2008. Minnesota's delegation, regardless of party affiliation, stays on the fence, in one instance citing that people's opinions are "all over the map."
WUSTL political science professor Steven Smith comments on Nancy Pelosi's strategy.

References:

1. March 8, 2007 — To set a pullout date or not: That is the question in the Minneapolis Star Tribune online

Article on the increasingly common attack fare in news releases from political operatives desperate to spin news coverage to their advantage.
WUSTL political rhetoric expert Wayne Fields, who directs the American Culture Studies program, says these tactics threaten to drain the substance out of political debate.

References:

1. July 25, 2006 — Political pros sharpen their knives in press release wars in the Associated Press State & Local Wire

and 5 others.

Several hundred Parisians gathered at City Hall yesterday to pay tribute to a French army captain, Alfred Dreyfus,who was convicted wrongly of treason in a trial that divided France more than a century ago. Anti-Semitism and assimilation are still controversial subjects in France today. WUSTL anthropology professor John Bowen comments.

References:

1. July 7, 2006 — Secularism, the French & Alfred Dreyfus in the The New York Sun

Democrats are pressing their support for embryonic stem cell research in Congressional races around the country, seeking to move back to center stage an issue they believe resonates with voters and to exploit a division between conservatives who oppose the science and other Republicans more open to it.
Former U.S. Senator John Danforth, an Episcopal minister, and his brother, William, WUSTL chancellor emeritus, have taken a prominent role in promoting the amendment.

References:

1. April 24, 2006 — Democrats hope to divide G.O.P. over stem cells in the The New York Times

and 1 others.

In current and upcoming speeches, the president wants to convince Americans not only that there is reason for optimism about Iraq's future but that the situation now is better than the daily reports of strife make it appear. President Bush is drawing on his plainspoken manner to defend his Iraq strategy. WUSTL political rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields comments on Bush's strattegy.

References:

1. March 23, 2006 — Bush Pulls Out the Stops to Save Ratings in the Forbes.com

and 57 others.

WUSTL presidential rhetoric specialist Wayne Fields comments on President Bush's annual State of the Union address and looks back on his previous speeches.

References:

1. Jan. 27, 2006 — Bush Has Hits, Misses in Annual Speech in the CBS News online

and 32 others.

Roundup of comments by Leila Nadya Sadat, WUSTL law professor and international criminal law expert, about the trial of Saddam Hussein. Defense strategy, the Iraqi war crimes tribunal, and the violence and turmoil surrounding the trial are all discussed. Professor Sadat also helped to train Iraqi jurists.

References:

1. Dec. 8, 2005 — After Hussein Refuses to Attend, Trial Resumes and Adjourns in the Los Angeles Times
2. Nov. 9, 2005 — 2nd Hussein Trial Defense Lawyer Slain in the Los Angeles Times
3. Oct. 20, 2005 — Law Experts Divided Over Legitimacy of Tribunal in the Los Angeles Times

and 2 others.

Democrats admit that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has the qualifications to serve. They plan to assess Judge Alito on ideological grounds. WUSTL law and political science professor Lee Epstein comments.

References:

1. Nov. 4, 2005 — Ideology Serves As a Wild Card On Court Pick in the New York Times

and 1 others.