Presidential Candidate Sen. John Edwards to speak on presidential communication at the College of Charleston

Charleston, S.C. (Jan 24, 2008) – Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards (D) will speak on the College of Charleston campus on January 25, 2008 as part of the College of Charleston’s Bully Pulpit Series on presidential communication. The event will take place outdoors at College of Charleston’s Physicians Promenade beginning at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. No ticket is required.

Senator Edwards is the fourth presidential candidate to speak in this series, which invites the individual presidential candidates to speak with students and Charleston community members on such topics as the frequency of press conferences, the candidate’s relationship with journalists, and the power of the president to persuade.

Allstate Insurance Company is the title sponsor for the Bully Pulpit series. As part of this non-partisan series, an equal number of presidential candidates from the two major political parties have been invited to the College of Charleston campus. U.S. Senator John McCain (R), U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D), and U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R) already have participated in the Bully Pulpit Series.

“The Bully Pulpit series is a unique forum for Presidential candidates to discuss the nature of presidential communication with our students and the greater Charleston community,” said George Benson, President of the College of Charleston. “The College is looking forward to hosting this series and offering our students an opportunity to learn from some of the most prominent figures in American politics.”

“We are pleased to have Senator Edwards come to our campus and speak regarding this crucial topic,” said Brian McGee, chairman of the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston. “The series is devoted to a subject often neglected during the Presidential campaign: How a successful candidate, if elected, will use the ‘bully pulpit’ powers of the presidency to inform, persuade and mobilize the American people.”

The Bully Pulpit Series at the College of Charleston is a joint effort of the College’s Department of Communication and the Department of Communication Advisory Council. Each event in the series offers students and faculty the opportunity to analyze the ideas of each candidate about effective presidential communication.

Following Senator Edwards’s appearance, the College of Charleston will offer the opportunity to subscribe to podcasts, permitting listeners download the relevant audio from each candidate’s appearance to their computer or MP3 player. Video portions of the appearance also will be streamed following the event.

To provide further opportunities for analysis of the candidate's appearance, the College of Charleston has invited Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, to collaborate with them in discussions of the candidates' responses. The College of Charleston will provide a complete video recording of this event to the Department of Speech Communication at Augustana College. Augustana student and faculty feedback will be reported as part of the follow-up to Senator Edwards's appearance.

Visit www.cofc.edu/bullypulpit for further information and updates on the presidential candidates participating in The Bully Pulpit Series.