These days, opinions are a dime a dozen in the blogosphere, but Newsweek’s Senior Editor Jonathan Alter said Thursday that print journalism remains a necessary part of the news process.

Barrett, The Honors College chose Alter to deliver the annual Rhodes Scholar lecture last Thursday night.

In his address, Alter argued that both print journalism and the opinion columnist are not dead — they are just as poignant and necessary now as any time before.

In recent days, Alter said, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his work on the New Deal have been misinterpreted.

“The New Deal failed?” Alter asked, referring to the claim made recently by many in the news industry. “Even if the New Deal didn’t end the Depression, [the American people] saw that the president was on their side, working the problem.”

After attending nearly a week of classes on ASU’s Downtown and Tempe campuses as a guest lecturer, Alter gave his Rhodes Lecture at the Tempe Center for the Arts to a crowd of Barrett students, faculty and interested members of the public.

The lecture, titled “The New Defining Moment: Perspectives on the Presidency and Democracy,” drew parallels between President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office and those of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The title mimicked Alter’s national bestselling book on Roosevelt, titled “The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.”

Alter focused mainly on a comparison of the two presidents in terms of their visions and goals in times of crisis.

FDR had a vision, could communicate it to the American public and could execute it, Alter said, referring to the New Deal among other implemented programs to help America recover from the Great Depression.

“Obama has a vision, and can communicate it, but can he execute it?” Alter said.

Obama has a “pragmatic” approach and is not afraid of “bold, persistent experimentation,” Alter said. “People will give him credit for trying.”

In a little less than an hour, Alter delved into a brief history and comparison of those presidents who have been “pivot points” in history.

Though Alter spoke primarily on FDR and the personality and presidential parallels to Obama, he also played the bipartisan field in reference to President Ronald Reagan and the Reaganomics phenomenon.

In the last five or 10 years, there has been essentially no rise in middle-class income, and Reaganomics had played out, Alter said.

“Things can change so quickly,” Alter said, referring to the current economic and housing crisis facing the country.

“A trillion here, a trillion there … pretty soon you’re talking about real money,” he said, borrowing a line once used in the 1980s.

Alter laid out a six-point criteria that he felt Obama should follow in order to truly have the country on his side and make progress in the economy.

“Obama is a professor,” Alter said. “Like FDR — who was nicknamed ‘teacher-in-chief’ — he knows how to communicate. [Obama needs to be] constantly dealing the cards so he won’t be played. You either write events or events write you.”

However, Obama also needs to become a confidence man, Alter said. All presidents must be con men to some extent, pulling sophisticated cons to unite the nation.

“[Obama needs to tell the nation] ‘I trust you to judge me by my results,’” Alter said. “Things will get worse before they get better.”

Alter ended his six points by claiming that what America needs in a time of crisis is a doctor to restore hope and faith in the nation, and Obama has “well-founded hope.”

“An economic depression is accompanied by a mental depression,” Alter said. People want “the facts, to know where you stand” in a president. They don’t want “blind optimism,” he said.

Obama needs to have “faith in the complexities of the defining moment,” Alter said.

Alter hit close to home during the question-and-answer section following the lecture.

“The future of the state requires an advancement in education,” Alter said, to rousing applause. Just moments before he had expressed his opinion that Arizona’s Legislature is acting in an “asinine manner” in terms of education.

Alter also pushed to move our society in a “green” direction, a move he claims will create new jobs and opportunities for Americans, and allow Washington to operate in a bipartisan way.

He also urged the students in the crowd to become involved in local politics and to “become a change maker — think globally, act locally.

“A lot lies in this generation,” Alter said. “Young people have a lot to do.”
Jaclyn Osbourne, a psychology sophomore, said this last point resonated with her.

“I never really think about the other presidents,” she said, “but I liked the political juxtapositions of FDR and Obama.”

Osbourne, a self-proclaimed Obama supporter, said that while the lecture didn’t sway her opinions on Obama, “[Alter] made me think.”

Reach the reporter at janessa.hilliard@asu.edu.