After vowing to usher in a new era of responsibility, some might argue that President Obama has shown a willingness to compromise between campaign rhetoric and the realities of Washington. Peter Hartcher and John Barron explore the Obama phenomenon with BBC’s Nick Bryant.
PETER HARTCHER (LOCAL) PETER HARTCHER is an award-winning journalist and author, and is currently the political editor and international editor for The Sydney Morning Herald. Peter has a distinguished record as a journalist. He won the Gold Walkley Award for his investigative series into how Australia secretly negotiated a security treaty with Indonesia. He won the Citibank award for business reporting for his coverage of the Asian economic crisis. He was a Walkey finalist in 1992 for an investigative account of how Paul Keating challenged Bob Hawke for the Prime Ministership of Australia, and again in 2003 for his analysis of the United States’ motives for the invasion of Iraq.
JOHN BARRON (LOCAL) JOHN BARRON hosts the National Drive Program on ABC Newsradio. He reported on the 2008 Presidential election for over 18 months, writing for publications including The Washington Post. John is the author of Vote for Me! The Long Road to the White House and co-producer of the documentary film First Stop, Iowa! about the grassroots campaigning behind Obama's success.
NICK BRYANT (LOCAL) NICK BRYANT was the BBC's Washington correspondent for five years, covering everything from the impeachment of Bill Clinton to the attacks of 9/11. Nick originally studied American history at Cambridge University before completing a PhD in American politics at Oxford University. He was a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nick is the author of the critically acclaimed The Bystander: John F. Kennedy and The Struggle for Black Equality. The husband of the Sydney-based fashion designer, Fleur Wood, Nick is now the BBC’s Australia correspondent.