Government & Politics

FBI special agent Christopher Whitcomb. He was part of the agency hostage rescue team. The team is the equivalent to the Navy SEALs and the Army Delta Force. As such he particpated in the missions at Waco, Ruby Ridge and Kosovo. He is currently director of strategic information management for the Critical Incident Response Group. He written the new book: Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hostage Rescue Team

Iranian born novelist Salar Abdoh. His first novel The Poet Game, (2000, Picador USA) is a fictitious account of an Iranian secret agent sent to New York City to investigate rumored terrorist plots, in the wake of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The main character, Sami Amir poses as a terrorist to try and stop the attacks. Salar Abdoh fled Iran with his father and brothers following the revolution in 1979. Abdoh earned a master degree in Creative Writing from the City College of New York. He lives in New York City.

Venkatesh, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of African American Studies at Columbia University in New York. His newest book –American Project: The Rise and Fall of the Modern Ghetto,— (Harvard 2000) was awarded the 2000 Professional/ Scholarly Publishing Award of the Association of American Publishers. His research interests are based in investigating the social organization of poor urban neighborhoods. He lives in New York City.

Tom Fontana of HBO's, Oz, the realistic drama about life in an experimental unit of a maximum security prison. Fontana also created Homicide: Life on the Street and the 1980s drama set in a city hospital, St. Elsewhere.

Hes the bestselling author of Great Political Wit. His new book, called Great Presidential Wit (I Wish I was in the Book), is a collection of funny anecdotes and quotations by or about American Presidents. Dole was the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history. He is currently serving as the chairman of the World War II Memorial campaign and as chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons in the Former Yugoslavia. Dole was also a commentator for Comedy Centrals Indecision 2000.

He discusses the state of politics today. He published his memoir, Time Present, Time Past in 1996. In addition to his political career, Bradley was also a star basketball player with the New York Knicks. His latest book is called The Journey from Here

Now the head of the Peace Corps, he served on President Clintons transition team as Deputy Director in 1992. He's been Assistant to the President, Director of Communications, and White House Chief of Staff. Under his direction, the Peace Corps has expanded its efforts to South Africa and Jordan in addition to opening a new section for crisis and natural disaster. And, Boyden Gray. He was George Bush, Sr.s Director of the Office of Transition Counsel. He counseled the elder Bush when he was President and Vice President.

He held the post during Clintons impeachment trial.

He was press secretary when the Monica Lewinsky story first broke.

White House Correspondent for the Washington Post, Dana Milbank. He covered the recent presidential campaign and the aftermath. Hes written a new book about it, Smashmouth: Two years in the Gutter with Al Gore and George W. Bush

David Kessler is former Commissioner of the US food and Drug Administration. As such, he took on one of the country's most powerful foes: the tobacco industry. They investigated tobacco makers to determine whether nicotine was a drug, and if so, be regulated by the FDA. Kessler's book about it is A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle with a Deadly Industry.

Reporter Eric Schmitt. He covers Capitol Hill for the New York Times. He’ll talk about the new Congress and power sharing in the 50/50 Senate. Schmitt will also talk about how the just resolved Presidential election—along with a truncated transition period for George W. Bush -- may effect political decision making on the Hill.

Law Professor Cass Sunstein. An expert in Constitutional interpretation, he explains the US Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore handed down last night. He talks about the legal difficulties of the case, what the final decision means for each candidate, and what sort of historical precedent a decision such as this one sets for the future.

Journalist Jeffrey Toobin. A staff writer for the New Yorker and senior analyst for television network ABC, he’s currently working on a book about the election controversy. He talks today about the election in retrospect, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that was handed down last night, and what the decision means for Bush and Gore.

Historian Alexander Keyssar. In his new book “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States” (Basic Books), he examines the checkered history of our country’s right to vote, and how this right was not for a time extended to certain groups of people, from propertyless white men, to women, immigrants, and African-Americans. Even now, he argues, that the wealthy and well-educated are for more likely to go to the polls than the poor and under educated. Keyssar is Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University.

Kim Alexander is President of the California Voter Foundation, organized to pioneer new technologies to improve democracy. The group produces the California Online Voter Guide. Recently Alexander was part of the Task Force for Internet Voting put together by California’s Secretary of State.

Singer Jerry Butler, aka The Iceman. His 1969 hit, “Only the Strong Survive,” is a rhythm and blues classic, and also the title of his new autobiography: “Only the Strong Survive: Memoirs of a Soul Survivor” (Indiana University Press) Butler founded the vocal group The Impressions as well as having a successful solo career. His awareness of civil rights led him to politics, and he is serving his fourth term on the Cook County Board of Commissioners in Chicago. The book was written with Earl Smith, Butler’s brother-in-law and a journalist.

Political scientist Robert Pastor, Ph.D. joins us to talk about possible election reforms in the American system after this presidential vote. Pastor is a professor of Political Science at Emory University, and in his former role as a Carter Center Fellow, he helped create international election monitoring teams. He has monitored 20 foreign elections. Pastor is the author of 10 books on subjects such as U-S foreign policy, international trade and democratization.

Senior analyst at the National Security Archive, Peter Kornbluh. Recently the CIA released thousands of secret U.S. documents about their role in the overthrow of the Allende government in Chile in 1973. Kornbluh led the effort to get the documents declassified.

Attorney Cass Sunstein (SUN-steen). He’s considered by many to be one of the nation’s authorities when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution. He’s the author of “One Case at a Time: Judicial Minimalism on the Supreme Court,” (Harvard University Press) which came out last year. Today, he explains the legal aspects of the election controversy in Florida. He teaches at the University of Chicago.