Presidential Candidate U. S. Representative Ron Paul to speak on presidential communication at the College of Charleston

Charleston, S.C. (Nov. 21, 2007) – Presidential candidate U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R) will speak on the College of Charleston campus on November 27, 2007 as part of the College of Charleston’s Bully Pulpit Series on presidential communication.

Dr. Paul is the second 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.

The event will take place at College of Charleston’s Physicians Auditorium on November 27, 2007 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm. A reception will follow the Town Hall event.

A ticket is required for entrance to Physicians Auditorium. On Monday, November 26, tickets will be available for students at no charge at the information desk on the first floor of the Stern Student Center on the College of Charleston campus. Tickets cannot be reserved via phone call or e-mail contact. Any remaining tickets will be made available to the public on Tuesday morning.

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 prior to the South Carolina presidential primaries, the first primaries to be held in the South. Allstate Insurance Company is the title sponsor for 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 honored to host this series and offer our students an opportunity to learn from some of the most prominent figures in American politics.”

“We are pleased to have Dr. Paul 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 Dr. Paul’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 Dr. Paul's appearance.

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