Experts: Candidates missing top issues

They offer little on China, climate

With the presidential horse race in full gallop, candidates are failing to talk about global climate change and the nation's ability to compete with China and other emerging economies — two defining issues for whoever makes it across the finish line, top political and economic experts said Friday in Charleston.

During a forum organized by the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, D.C., panel members said they were surprised with the lack of substantive dialogue during Thursday night's Republican debate in Myrtle Beach.

Kenneth Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Reagan, said the candidates seemed more interested in aligning themselves with Reagan's political legacy than talking about how they would handle more pressing issues of governance — a strategy he described as "antique." He said the only two Republican candidates who have talked about global warming are Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

The Opportunity '08 forum at the Riviera Theater on King Street was co-sponsored by The Post and Courier. Much of Friday's panel discussions were devoted on the challenges China poses to the next president.

Pointing out that China is building a new coal-fired power plant a week, Jeffrey Bader, an Asia expert at Brookings, said global climate issues will be "a major source of friction between the two countries."

Glenn Hutchins, a special advisor to President Clinton, said the U.S. education system isn't keeping pace with those in other countries. He said China's schools are turning out three times as many engineers as those in the United States.

Bruce Katz, vice president of Brookings' metropolitan policy program, said states and cities are better sources of innovation and should press Washington, D.C., to reinvent the way it governs. "We are a metro nation, and it's high time we started acting like one."

Dana Beach, executive director of the Coastal Conservation League and the lone local panel member, said Charleston's prosperity is tied to its ability to maintain the quality of its physical and historical landscape — attributes that set the area apart. But he said sprawling developments have consumed too much rural land, threatening this competitive advantage.

Gov. Mark Sanford expressed his frustration with the absence of meaningful dialogue during Thursday's debate. "This notion of competitiveness is the 'it' issue of 'it' issues as you look at '08 and frankly beyond," he said. "For the first time in recorded history, a young kid in Charleston County is competing directly with a kid in Shanghai, China, India or Dublin."

While panel members decried the lack of substance in the presidential race, they said the contest is still fascinating to watch unfold.

Thomas E. Donilon, a senior advisor in the Clinton administration, said that as Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, approaches, the day more than 20 states hold primaries, the major political story will be who has the most delegates. He said McCain's comeback was extraordinary, noting that McCain moved from one of Bush's chief defenders to one of his toughest critics, and that this might have played a role in his success.

Hutchins said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has positioned himself as a "post-partisan candidate," a strategy that might appeal to voters tired of bipartisan bickering. Duberstein said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York has an edge over Obama when it comes to experience, but the bipartisan battles during her husband's administration might turn voters off.

"The bottom line is that (the races) are absolutely fluid on the Democratic side and chaotic on the Republican side."

Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554.

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