November 20, 2023 • 19 mins
On October 3rd, 2007, the College of Charleston started a brand new political communication lecture series called the Bully Pulpit Series. The goal was to have national politicians who were running for president come to the College and speak to students about politics and how they planned to communicate to the public if they were elected President of the United States. Over the last 15 years, 32 politicians have participated in the series. The events have ranged from very small, intimate gatherings to huge events attracting thousands of people. Some of the more memorable candidates include then Senator John McCain, former president Barack Obama, president Joe Biden and Stephen Colbert, who was the host of the Comedy Central program, The Colbert Report at the time, and his "ROCK ME LIKE A HERMAN CAIN" Primary Rally in Cistern Yard.
Featured on this Episode:
H. Gibbs Knotts was appointed the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in October 2020. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is comprised of the following academic departments: communication, English, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies and sociology and anthropology.
Before assuming the role of dean, Knotts served as the department chair of the College's Department of Political Science from 2012 to 2019. In the area of political science, he teaches undergraduate courses in American politics and graduate courses in the public administration program.
Knotts has published works on political participation, Southern politics, public administration and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Articles have appeared in a variety of outlets including the Journal of Politics, Public Administration Review, Political Research Quarterly, The American Review of Public Administration, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, PS: Political Science and Politics, Social Science Quarterly, Southern Cultures, Southeastern Geographer and Social Forces. He also co-edited The New Politics of North Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, 2008). He has two co-authored books: The Resilience of Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of Its People (University of North Carolina Press, 2017) and First in the South: Why South Carolina’s Presidential Primary Matters (University of South Carolina Press, 2019). He received the College of Charleston’s Distinguished Research Award in 2017.
Amanda Ruth-McSwain is an associate professor of communication at the College of Charleston. Her teaching and research interests are in strategic communication placed in agricultural contexts. More specifically, her specializations are in leadership communication and organizational public relations. Since her 2005 start at the College of Charleston, Dr. Ruth-McSwain has taught over 12 different courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Leadership Communication, Strategic Communication Campaigns, Public Relations Cases, Business Communication and Ethics in Leadership Communication.
Ruth Mc-Swain has served in a variety of leadership roles at the College. From 2011-2021, she served as the Director of the Bully Pulpit Series. She also served as the Interim Associate Dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences from 2019-2021, and as Director of the Master of Arts in Communication program from 2013-2019.
Resources from this Episode:
The Bully Pulpit Series
Stephen Colbert at the College “Rock Me Like A Herman Cain: South Cain-Olina Primary Rally”
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike Robertson (00:05):
Hello and Welcome to Speaking of College
of Charleston. I'm MikeRobertson, Senior Director of
Media Relations here at thecollege. Today we're going to
take a look at the 50thanniversary of the College of
Charleston signature PoliticalCommunication program. The bully
pulpit series, my guest ourcommunication Professor Amanda
(00:25):
Ruth McSwain, and politicalscience professor and dean of
the School of Humanities andSocial Sciences, Gibbs Knotts.
Let's get started. On October3 2007, the College of
Charleston started a brand newpolitical communication lecture
(00:46):
series called the bully pulpitseries. The goal was to have
national politicians running forpresident come to the College of
Charleston and speak to studentsabout politics, and how they
plan to communicate to thepublic if they are elected
President of the United States.
The first speaker on this serieswas Arizona senator John McCain.
That day he spoke to the crowdof students about his ideas, his
(01:09):
take on current events, and healso reminisced about his last
visit to the College ofCharleston several years
earlier. And, by the way,
Unknown (01:20):
I mentioned the great rally we had here at the College
of Charleston. After I lost inthe primary to then Governor
Bush. I slept like a baby. sleeptwo hours wake up and cry, sleep
two hours, wake up and cry. Andsince
Mike Robertson (01:33):
then, the series has grown into a signature
program for the College ofCharleston. Over 32 presidential
candidates have come to theCollege of Charleston to
participate in this series overthe past 15 years. It has become
so popular that NPR is nationalpolitical correspondent Don
Ganya wrote that. If you'replanning to campaign in South
(01:55):
Carolina, there are three placesyou need to go. First, you need
to visit a local church andspeak to the congregation.
Second, you need to visit afamily restaurant called
lizard's thicket, and the thirdone, you need to speak at the
College of Charleston. Joiningme to talk more about this 15th
anniversary of the bully pulpitseries are two people very
(02:18):
instrumental in the success ofthis series. Amanda Ruth McSwain
is a communication professor andserved as the director of the
bully pulpit series from 2011till 2021. And Gibbs Knotts is a
professor of political scienceand Dean of the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences.
He also serves as the moderatorfor the bully pulpit events.
(02:41):
Gibbs, let's start with you. Whyis this series so popular with
politicians? Oh,
Unknown (02:47):
because of the South Carolina primary. I mean,
basically, on the Republicanside, if you have any want to
have any chance of getting thenomination, you've got to win in
South Carolina, the only timeSouth Carolina voters have
gotten it wrong is in 2012, whenthey went for Newt Gingrich and
Mitt Romney got the nomination.
And so you got to come to SouthCarolina, and they know
candidates know when they cometo the College of Charleston,
they're going to be treatedfairly, we're going to have a
(03:09):
good crowd. And they're going toget a chance to talk with young
voters. And just likeadvertisers, advertisers want
young people to buy theirproducts, voters want young
people to vote for them. Becauseyou know, it can become a habit.
And if they can, you know, getsomebody to be on their side
when they're younger. They canvote for them in subsequent
elections, and then sort of, youknow, stick with that party
throughout their life. And soit's just a really attractive
(03:30):
place for candidates to come.
And we're extremely excited whenthey do come to our campus.
Mike Robertson (03:38):
Now, of course, politicians aren't the only ones
benefiting from this. Amanda,you've worked with students
college Charleston students tellme how they play into this.
Amanda (03:46):
So early on, I realized there was great opportunity for
students to be involved behindthe scenes. And so that's
everything from campaignrelations to event management to
media relations work. Andalthough it's evolved over the
years, and how those studentsare included in the events,
they've always been a reallyinstrumental part in in each and
(04:07):
every one of the bully pulpitseries opportunities. Or like
Mike Robertson (04:10):
I said, 32 Politicians so far have
participated in the bully pulpitseries. The events have ranged
from very small intimategatherings to huge events,
attracting 1000s of people. Oneof the most memorable programs
have been on sistering yard whena senator from Illinois stopped
by to participate in the series,
Unknown (04:29):
that we are one people.
We are one nation, and together,we will begin the next great
chapter in America story withthree words that will ring from
coast to coast from sea toshining sea. Yes, we can. Thank
you. Thank you, South Carolina.
(04:55):
Thank you, John Kerry.
Mike Robertson (04:57):
Amanda, you were there. Tell us about it. What
happened oh,
Amanda (05:00):
Ah, the energy was incredible. I think it was a
defining moment when I realizedI couldn't get to my office
because of Secret Service.
They're like, I don't care whoyou are, I don't care where
you're going. You're not You'renot crossing this line. But
later that afternoon when theevent actually happened, I
think, you know, it not only putthe College of Charleston on the
map in terms of who we are andhow much we care about, not only
(05:21):
kind of our local area, but thestate and, you know, politics
and how it impacts collegecampus. But it was also a moment
that, you know, gave us suchpride that, you know, this up
and coming, you know, politicianwould come and spend time with
us. And so it was it was prettywild. I actually I was only in
my third yearat College of Charleston, but it
(05:44):
was definitely such an honor tobe part of it, even just as a
participant. You
Mike Robertson (05:52):
know, politicians are not the only
ones attracted to the bullypulpit series. Over the past 15
years a series has attracted alot of media attention for the
College of Charleston. Thisincludes CNN when Erin Burnett
and Anderson Cooper both hostedtheir programs live on campus,
Fox News held a town hallmeeting and utility theater.
(06:13):
Politico had a forum on campusand NBC News had several
reporters broadcasting live fromsystem yard on various
occasions. But when it comes tomedia coverage, one event stood
out. And
Unknown (06:25):
on the eve of tomorrow's primary, the College
of Charleston was the scene of abig political rally today. And
the draw was not one of thecandidates we've been hearing
about. It was Comedy Central'sStephen Colbert. NPR is Don Gunn
news. They'rethe crowd top 3000 Nearly all
students in the outdoor squareand right on time 1pm a marching
band entered clearing a path forStephen Colbert. On stage at
(06:45):
gospel choir. pallbearers sangharmony by the dogs,
Mike Robertson (06:51):
Stephen Colbert was the host of the Comedy
Central program, The ColbertReport, and he decided to run
for president. Well, kind of
Unknown (07:02):
it's good to be back home. You can't go home again,
did not have a friend with aprivate jet. It was easy. Again,
I want to take a moment to thankeverybody who made this a
possible I want to call in sin?
And how about those College ofCharleston cheerleaders and the
(07:28):
poor. Man and the postalCarolina marching band. It leads
to bitter rivals share the samestage and hope that America can
come together. Most importantly,ladies and gentlemen, I mean
(07:48):
this sincerely. One of thethings Stephen Colbert.
Somebody had to say, and I'm theone on the
Mike Robertson (07:59):
mic. Now I remember I was sitting in the
press stands during this eventand about 50 different news
organizations from all aroundthe world covering this event.
And at one time, a reporter whoworked for a German newspaper
came up to me and said, Who isStephen Colbert? And why is he
here? I couldn't come up with agood answer. couldn't come up
(08:20):
with a good answer. Tell me tellme your thoughts. Oh, goodness.
Amanda (08:24):
I mean, I think that obviously the Colbert family has
a long history in Charleston andobviously coming home was truly
coming home for him. So that wasexciting. But I to be honest
with you where the idea camefrom, I'm not sure. But I will
tell you as a quick idea, it wasa Monday afternoon, I was
leaving campus and picked up thephone. And it was Comedy
Central. And somewhat some ofhis staff at Comedy Central
(08:47):
calling to tell me what the ideawas. And again, Monday
afternoon, and at the end of thecall, they said oh, by the way
we're gonna do this Thursday.
And I was I was like, I'm sorry,did you just say cheerleaders
and a pep band and a gospelchoir and a stage. And so it was
a lot. What a lot of peopledon't remember is we were also
working on a really big eventwith Ron Paul that same week.
And so it was really kind of twovery large, very different
(09:10):
competing events to coordinateat one time. But it was, I mean,
just I had goosebumps listeningto that clip, because it was one
of the most just enjoyable and Ithink satisfying, for lack of a
better word Bowmans in the bullypulpit series for me of pulling
something like that off where wewere exposing students to a very
(09:32):
different side of politics,right. But nonetheless, we were
getting them involved in theconversation.
Mike Robertson (09:38):
You know, we had a lot of people come to the
College of Charleston campaignscoming to the College of
Charleston during that period oftime. But everyone short
compared to this, this rally byStephen Colbert, does that
surprise you that he wouldoutshine some politicians?
Unknown (09:54):
I don't think so. I mean, just the sort of draw of
celebrity in this day and age isinsanely Public. And more so
with social media and thingslike that, but you know, he's
definitely a belovedCharlestonians and somebody that
a lot of people get a big kickout of. And he's obviously, you
know, gone on to even, you know,bigger and better things,
hosting his own late night showkind of after his Comedy Central
(10:16):
days. And so yeah, that's notsurprising at all. But again,
it's getting as Dr. Ruth McCainsaid, it's getting people in the
conversations, having them thinkabout politics, Johnson people
in that may normally not listento this stuff. That's a really
important role that, that eventslike that can play. All right,
storytime.
Mike Robertson (10:35):
15 years of the bully pulpit series, though, are
bound to have some memories thatyou remember, Amanda, we'll
start with you. There's
Amanda (10:42):
honestly so many, it's hard to every single event had
something that was either eyeopening or silly or
unbelievable. I learned so muchabout each candidate by working
with their staff, and, obviouslytheir campaign so that behind
the scenes glimpse was alwaysenlightening. But, you know, I
(11:02):
will have to say, I think it wasthat 2012 year, that was my
first big season. And, you know,whether again, it was a Ron Paul
event, or, you know, orobviously, the Colbert event and
so many other smaller eventsthat that year it was, it was
just a learning experience. AndI'm not necessarily one that
(11:22):
would consider myself apolitical expert by any means.
But I learned a lot aboutpolitics, and how important the
landscape is in South Carolinain particular. So I would say,
probably Colbert is up therewith a favorite memory. But we
also we do a lot of work withTed Cruz one year, and there
(11:44):
were some really interestingmemories that come from that.
But whether it was coal bear oran actual, you know, political
campaign, or a media to, youknow, again, a media event,
there was something that Idefinitely walked away with each
and that was, you know, whetherI was kind of lugging carpets
across campus to make sure wehad the best carpet on stage for
a broadcast or I was making sureyou know, every green room was
(12:08):
staffed, you know, with exactlythe candidates needs, you know,
there was again, alwayssomething new and different to
learn. Now,
Mike Robertson (12:14):
chances are you've heard of these
politicians before they camehere, you've probably read up on
them. And so you know aboutthem, but were there without
naming names. Were there somepoliticians where you finally
met them? You said, Okay, thisguy needs some work. And were
there others that that you said,Oh my gosh, this guy is or this
candidate is amazing.
Amanda (12:34):
Yes. I mean, I will not name names but there were there
were so many I would have to sayfor whatever reason, I always
felt like the underdog alwayspulled at my heartstrings. They
were always so nice. so kind, soappreciative. Stay around to
chat, got their guitars out toplay on stage. You know, I mean,
there were those real moments oflike, this person belongs here
(12:58):
in this community, right? Theywant to be here, they want to
talk to us. And so I understandthe difference between you know,
the smaller campaigns that are alot more nimble, flexible, and
then there's large campaignsthat travel with large staffs,
and you have to be reallycareful about what you do and
who's involved. But you know,there yes, there are definitely
I feel like I could write a bookabout understanding the
personality of the candidatesjust through those events,
Mike Robertson (13:20):
and gives you have the unique opportunity to
talk to them prior to them goingon stage since you're the
moderator. Are there somepoliticians you've talked to
that's that you've you know,same thing Wow, this this person
is really good. This one or thisone really needs a little bit
more? I
Unknown (13:36):
want to name names. I mean, so you know, if you go out
and on the internet and readabout Senator Amy Klobuchar,
there's some people say she canbe hard to work with. You
probably can find that articleabout any person in politics
today. And so I wasn't reallysure and she could not have been
nicer. She brought me a gift bagwith her book. She I think she
bought president's shoe a giftbag, a t shirt, Amy for
(13:59):
president that I still wear andpeople look at me like Amy who's
Amy. Amy ran for president. ButI got to sit on stage with her
have a conversation with her.
She was great. And as as Dr.
Ruth McSwain said, it's a youknow, she was a smaller
operations. She wasn't one ofthe front runners. And so she
had a lunch with a group ofstudents afterwards, I believe,
if I'm not mistaken. And sothere just was a lot there were
(14:20):
a lot more generous with theirtime than just coming in and
kind of and kind of coming out.
I mean, I think about the BETOor work event. Another thing
that Amanda said was that, youknow, you we would get an
agreement with like the localperson or the state person, and
then all of a sudden thenational people would show up
and our plans would just getcompletely blown up and so we
had all our signage up. We hadour sound where it needed to be
(14:43):
and then the national people getthere and they decide he needs
to stand on a on a on a on apallet kind of very in the
middle and do it in the round,which screwed everything up. We
could barely hear him so heshows up. He always drove a
minivan to I don't know whybetter Oh, was a minivan gowns,
maybe that was his brand orsomething like that. So he shows
up. And then we just scrambledto get the setup to look like
(15:06):
what the BETO team wanted to do.
It ended up being a fun event.
It was in stern center gardenbehind the stern center. But
yeah, just one of those oneswhere we, you never know what to
expect it. And then you alsojust another key point is that
we don't have a lot of leadtime. I mean, these campaigns
don't plan a long time inadvance. And so if we have two
weeks, we're lucky. Butgenerally, it's and then as you
(15:29):
get closer to the primary, itjust gets more hectic as more
and more candidates focus onSouth Carolina.
Mike Robertson (15:36):
Okay, let's do a quiz. Even though I think we
already have the answer thatwhat presidential candidate
arrived at the bully pulpitevent armed with a guitar and
actually played a song. He
Unknown (15:49):
won something or not just hashtag Twitter. streams
live on YouTube, but I betGangnam Style still. Alright,
Mike Robertson (15:58):
that's not a great recording. I get that. He
moved to the edge of the stage.
And I actually recorded thatwhile I was working with the
media on that one, and playedit. So I think you guys need to
Amanda (16:12):
give Okay, yeah. I
Unknown (16:14):
think it's Martin O'Malley. But I could be wrong.
Mike Robertson (16:16):
Yes, Martin O'Malley have no idea what that
song is. Yeah, it was one ofthat. He just, I guess sang it.
Different events. While he itdidn't
Unknown (16:25):
work. He? He didn't he didn't get a lot of votes. But
But yeah, he did. He was thecandidate with the guitar. His
daughter went here, right?
That's right.
Mike Robertson (16:32):
I believe so.
Okay. Okay. Let's talk about thefuture of the bully pulpit
series here. Gibbs we're seeinga lot of changes in campaigning,
we're seeing candidates reallyjust talking to prefer tight
groups, people who are likelytheir supporters, is that going
to hurt a series like the bullypulpit,
Unknown (16:50):
I'm a little concerned.
I mean, we've invited as we doevery year, we've sent
invitations out to everypresidential candidate running
for every, you know, whether onthe Democrat or Republican side,
but I think there's somedynamics in the Democratic part
of the Republican Party rightnow, that gives me a little bit
of concern. Number one, Trumphas such a big lead. And I think
a lot of these candidates arefeeling like if they don't
somehow get to him in Iowa, thenthere's going to be no South
(17:13):
Carolina. So people are spendinga ton of time in Iowa, which is
before us on the Republicanside. But look, you hit the nail
on the head, we have to getpeople who don't agree with
candidates to don't agree withdisagree on political issues in
the same room talking to eachother. Our our democracy depends
on it. In some ways, ourcivilization depends on it. And
(17:33):
so we can certainly play a bigrole. You know, we don't want
you know, we don't want anybodyto shout down a candidate. If we
invite a candidate here, we wantthe candidate to be able to, you
know, give his or her answers toquestions. But we also want our
students to ask really hard,challenging questions. And so,
yeah, I think there's a longtime. But if you're out there,
if there's any RepublicanRepublican candidates listening
(17:55):
to this podcast, come to Collegeof Charleston, you know, we've
got we will make sure you have afull room. And we will make sure
it's a great event.
Mike Robertson (18:06):
Amanda, same question, what do you think we
can do? You
Amanda (18:09):
know, I think that we continue to be a really
welcoming host, you know, and werecognize that not only
hopefully, are we providingvalue to that candidate by
putting them in front of anaudience that's engaged and
active and interested, but thatit's also really beneficial for
our students. And I think aslong as we keep our eye on the
reason why this series has beenso valuable in the past, I'm
(18:32):
hoping that that message kind ofbreaks through the clutter and
is still convincing that, youknow, this is a student audience
that wants to hear from youbecause they're trying to make
really informed decisions,right. I do think for the bully
pulpit series in general, youknow, just having to adapt and
evolve with, you know, whatwe're seeing in terms of, of
campaign events, you know,sometimes we don't have as much
(18:54):
control as we would like, butstill, again, keeping our our
eye on the mission and what'simportant is is critical.
Mike Robertson (19:01):
Amanda Gibbs, thanks for the conversation.
Unknown (19:04):
Thank you. Thank you.
Mike Robertson (19:11):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
speaking of College ofCharleston, with today's guest,
Amanda Ruth McSwain and GibbsKnotts for shownotes and more
episodes, you can visit theCollege Charleston's official
news site, the collegetoday@today.cfc.edu. You can
also find more College ofCharleston podcast episodes on
(19:35):
all major podcast platforms. I'mMike Robertson. Thank you for
listening to speaking of Collegeof Charleston.
Hello and Welcome to Speaking of College
of Charleston. I'm MikeRobertson, Senior Director of
Media Relations here at thecollege. Today we're going to
take a look at the 50thanniversary of the College of
Charleston signature PoliticalCommunication program. The bully
pulpit series, my guest ourcommunication Professor Amanda
(00:25):
Ruth McSwain, and politicalscience professor and dean of
the School of Humanities andSocial Sciences, Gibbs Knotts.
Let's get started. On October3 2007, the College of
Charleston started a brand newpolitical communication lecture
(00:46):
series called the bully pulpitseries. The goal was to have
national politicians running forpresident come to the College of
Charleston and speak to studentsabout politics, and how they
plan to communicate to thepublic if they are elected
President of the United States.
The first speaker on this serieswas Arizona senator John McCain.
That day he spoke to the crowdof students about his ideas, his
(01:09):
take on current events, and healso reminisced about his last
visit to the College ofCharleston several years
earlier. And, by the way,
Unknown (01:20):
I mentioned the great rally we had here at the College
of Charleston. After I lost inthe primary to then Governor
Bush. I slept like a baby. sleeptwo hours wake up and cry, sleep
two hours, wake up and cry. Andsince
Mike Robertson (01:33):
then, the series has grown into a signature
program for the College ofCharleston. Over 32 presidential
candidates have come to theCollege of Charleston to
participate in this series overthe past 15 years. It has become
so popular that NPR is nationalpolitical correspondent Don
Ganya wrote that. If you'replanning to campaign in South
(01:55):
Carolina, there are three placesyou need to go. First, you need
to visit a local church andspeak to the congregation.
Second, you need to visit afamily restaurant called
lizard's thicket, and the thirdone, you need to speak at the
College of Charleston. Joiningme to talk more about this 15th
anniversary of the bully pulpitseries are two people very
(02:18):
instrumental in the success ofthis series. Amanda Ruth McSwain
is a communication professor andserved as the director of the
bully pulpit series from 2011till 2021. And Gibbs Knotts is a
professor of political scienceand Dean of the School of
Humanities and Social Sciences.
He also serves as the moderatorfor the bully pulpit events.
(02:41):
Gibbs, let's start with you. Whyis this series so popular with
politicians? Oh,
Unknown (02:47):
because of the South Carolina primary. I mean,
basically, on the Republicanside, if you have any want to
have any chance of getting thenomination, you've got to win in
South Carolina, the only timeSouth Carolina voters have
gotten it wrong is in 2012, whenthey went for Newt Gingrich and
Mitt Romney got the nomination.
And so you got to come to SouthCarolina, and they know
candidates know when they cometo the College of Charleston,
they're going to be treatedfairly, we're going to have a
(03:09):
good crowd. And they're going toget a chance to talk with young
voters. And just likeadvertisers, advertisers want
young people to buy theirproducts, voters want young
people to vote for them. Becauseyou know, it can become a habit.
And if they can, you know, getsomebody to be on their side
when they're younger. They canvote for them in subsequent
elections, and then sort of, youknow, stick with that party
throughout their life. And soit's just a really attractive
(03:30):
place for candidates to come.
And we're extremely excited whenthey do come to our campus.
Mike Robertson (03:38):
Now, of course, politicians aren't the only ones
benefiting from this. Amanda,you've worked with students
college Charleston students tellme how they play into this.
Amanda (03:46):
So early on, I realized there was great opportunity for
students to be involved behindthe scenes. And so that's
everything from campaignrelations to event management to
media relations work. Andalthough it's evolved over the
years, and how those studentsare included in the events,
they've always been a reallyinstrumental part in in each and
(04:07):
every one of the bully pulpitseries opportunities. Or like
Mike Robertson (04:10):
I said, 32 Politicians so far have
participated in the bully pulpitseries. The events have ranged
from very small intimategatherings to huge events,
attracting 1000s of people. Oneof the most memorable programs
have been on sistering yard whena senator from Illinois stopped
by to participate in the series,
Unknown (04:29):
that we are one people.
We are one nation, and together,we will begin the next great
chapter in America story withthree words that will ring from
coast to coast from sea toshining sea. Yes, we can. Thank
you. Thank you, South Carolina.
(04:55):
Thank you, John Kerry.
Mike Robertson (04:57):
Amanda, you were there. Tell us about it. What
happened oh,
Amanda (05:00):
Ah, the energy was incredible. I think it was a
defining moment when I realizedI couldn't get to my office
because of Secret Service.
They're like, I don't care whoyou are, I don't care where
you're going. You're not You'renot crossing this line. But
later that afternoon when theevent actually happened, I
think, you know, it not only putthe College of Charleston on the
map in terms of who we are andhow much we care about, not only
(05:21):
kind of our local area, but thestate and, you know, politics
and how it impacts collegecampus. But it was also a moment
that, you know, gave us suchpride that, you know, this up
and coming, you know, politicianwould come and spend time with
us. And so it was it was prettywild. I actually I was only in
my third yearat College of Charleston, but it
(05:44):
was definitely such an honor tobe part of it, even just as a
participant. You
Mike Robertson (05:52):
know, politicians are not the only
ones attracted to the bullypulpit series. Over the past 15
years a series has attracted alot of media attention for the
College of Charleston. Thisincludes CNN when Erin Burnett
and Anderson Cooper both hostedtheir programs live on campus,
Fox News held a town hallmeeting and utility theater.
(06:13):
Politico had a forum on campusand NBC News had several
reporters broadcasting live fromsystem yard on various
occasions. But when it comes tomedia coverage, one event stood
out. And
Unknown (06:25):
on the eve of tomorrow's primary, the College
of Charleston was the scene of abig political rally today. And
the draw was not one of thecandidates we've been hearing
about. It was Comedy Central'sStephen Colbert. NPR is Don Gunn
news. They'rethe crowd top 3000 Nearly all
students in the outdoor squareand right on time 1pm a marching
band entered clearing a path forStephen Colbert. On stage at
(06:45):
gospel choir. pallbearers sangharmony by the dogs,
Mike Robertson (06:51):
Stephen Colbert was the host of the Comedy
Central program, The ColbertReport, and he decided to run
for president. Well, kind of
Unknown (07:02):
it's good to be back home. You can't go home again,
did not have a friend with aprivate jet. It was easy. Again,
I want to take a moment to thankeverybody who made this a
possible I want to call in sin?
And how about those College ofCharleston cheerleaders and the
(07:28):
poor. Man and the postalCarolina marching band. It leads
to bitter rivals share the samestage and hope that America can
come together. Most importantly,ladies and gentlemen, I mean
(07:48):
this sincerely. One of thethings Stephen Colbert.
Somebody had to say, and I'm theone on the
Mike Robertson (07:59):
mic. Now I remember I was sitting in the
press stands during this eventand about 50 different news
organizations from all aroundthe world covering this event.
And at one time, a reporter whoworked for a German newspaper
came up to me and said, Who isStephen Colbert? And why is he
here? I couldn't come up with agood answer. couldn't come up
(08:20):
with a good answer. Tell me tellme your thoughts. Oh, goodness.
Amanda (08:24):
I mean, I think that obviously the Colbert family has
a long history in Charleston andobviously coming home was truly
coming home for him. So that wasexciting. But I to be honest
with you where the idea camefrom, I'm not sure. But I will
tell you as a quick idea, it wasa Monday afternoon, I was
leaving campus and picked up thephone. And it was Comedy
Central. And somewhat some ofhis staff at Comedy Central
(08:47):
calling to tell me what the ideawas. And again, Monday
afternoon, and at the end of thecall, they said oh, by the way
we're gonna do this Thursday.
And I was I was like, I'm sorry,did you just say cheerleaders
and a pep band and a gospelchoir and a stage. And so it was
a lot. What a lot of peopledon't remember is we were also
working on a really big eventwith Ron Paul that same week.
And so it was really kind of twovery large, very different
(09:10):
competing events to coordinateat one time. But it was, I mean,
just I had goosebumps listeningto that clip, because it was one
of the most just enjoyable and Ithink satisfying, for lack of a
better word Bowmans in the bullypulpit series for me of pulling
something like that off where wewere exposing students to a very
(09:32):
different side of politics,right. But nonetheless, we were
getting them involved in theconversation.
Mike Robertson (09:38):
You know, we had a lot of people come to the
College of Charleston campaignscoming to the College of
Charleston during that period oftime. But everyone short
compared to this, this rally byStephen Colbert, does that
surprise you that he wouldoutshine some politicians?
Unknown (09:54):
I don't think so. I mean, just the sort of draw of
celebrity in this day and age isinsanely Public. And more so
with social media and thingslike that, but you know, he's
definitely a belovedCharlestonians and somebody that
a lot of people get a big kickout of. And he's obviously, you
know, gone on to even, you know,bigger and better things,
hosting his own late night showkind of after his Comedy Central
(10:16):
days. And so yeah, that's notsurprising at all. But again,
it's getting as Dr. Ruth McCainsaid, it's getting people in the
conversations, having them thinkabout politics, Johnson people
in that may normally not listento this stuff. That's a really
important role that, that eventslike that can play. All right,
storytime.
Mike Robertson (10:35):
15 years of the bully pulpit series, though, are
bound to have some memories thatyou remember, Amanda, we'll
start with you. There's
Amanda (10:42):
honestly so many, it's hard to every single event had
something that was either eyeopening or silly or
unbelievable. I learned so muchabout each candidate by working
with their staff, and, obviouslytheir campaign so that behind
the scenes glimpse was alwaysenlightening. But, you know, I
(11:02):
will have to say, I think it wasthat 2012 year, that was my
first big season. And, you know,whether again, it was a Ron Paul
event, or, you know, orobviously, the Colbert event and
so many other smaller eventsthat that year it was, it was
just a learning experience. AndI'm not necessarily one that
(11:22):
would consider myself apolitical expert by any means.
But I learned a lot aboutpolitics, and how important the
landscape is in South Carolinain particular. So I would say,
probably Colbert is up therewith a favorite memory. But we
also we do a lot of work withTed Cruz one year, and there
(11:44):
were some really interestingmemories that come from that.
But whether it was coal bear oran actual, you know, political
campaign, or a media to, youknow, again, a media event,
there was something that Idefinitely walked away with each
and that was, you know, whetherI was kind of lugging carpets
across campus to make sure wehad the best carpet on stage for
a broadcast or I was making sureyou know, every green room was
(12:08):
staffed, you know, with exactlythe candidates needs, you know,
there was again, alwayssomething new and different to
learn. Now,
Mike Robertson (12:14):
chances are you've heard of these
politicians before they camehere, you've probably read up on
them. And so you know aboutthem, but were there without
naming names. Were there somepoliticians where you finally
met them? You said, Okay, thisguy needs some work. And were
there others that that you said,Oh my gosh, this guy is or this
candidate is amazing.
Amanda (12:34):
Yes. I mean, I will not name names but there were there
were so many I would have to sayfor whatever reason, I always
felt like the underdog alwayspulled at my heartstrings. They
were always so nice. so kind, soappreciative. Stay around to
chat, got their guitars out toplay on stage. You know, I mean,
there were those real moments oflike, this person belongs here
(12:58):
in this community, right? Theywant to be here, they want to
talk to us. And so I understandthe difference between you know,
the smaller campaigns that are alot more nimble, flexible, and
then there's large campaignsthat travel with large staffs,
and you have to be reallycareful about what you do and
who's involved. But you know,there yes, there are definitely
I feel like I could write a bookabout understanding the
personality of the candidatesjust through those events,
Mike Robertson (13:20):
and gives you have the unique opportunity to
talk to them prior to them goingon stage since you're the
moderator. Are there somepoliticians you've talked to
that's that you've you know,same thing Wow, this this person
is really good. This one or thisone really needs a little bit
more? I
Unknown (13:36):
want to name names. I mean, so you know, if you go out
and on the internet and readabout Senator Amy Klobuchar,
there's some people say she canbe hard to work with. You
probably can find that articleabout any person in politics
today. And so I wasn't reallysure and she could not have been
nicer. She brought me a gift bagwith her book. She I think she
bought president's shoe a giftbag, a t shirt, Amy for
(13:59):
president that I still wear andpeople look at me like Amy who's
Amy. Amy ran for president. ButI got to sit on stage with her
have a conversation with her.
She was great. And as as Dr.
Ruth McSwain said, it's a youknow, she was a smaller
operations. She wasn't one ofthe front runners. And so she
had a lunch with a group ofstudents afterwards, I believe,
if I'm not mistaken. And sothere just was a lot there were
(14:20):
a lot more generous with theirtime than just coming in and
kind of and kind of coming out.
I mean, I think about the BETOor work event. Another thing
that Amanda said was that, youknow, you we would get an
agreement with like the localperson or the state person, and
then all of a sudden thenational people would show up
and our plans would just getcompletely blown up and so we
had all our signage up. We hadour sound where it needed to be
(14:43):
and then the national people getthere and they decide he needs
to stand on a on a on a on apallet kind of very in the
middle and do it in the round,which screwed everything up. We
could barely hear him so heshows up. He always drove a
minivan to I don't know whybetter Oh, was a minivan gowns,
maybe that was his brand orsomething like that. So he shows
up. And then we just scrambledto get the setup to look like
(15:06):
what the BETO team wanted to do.
It ended up being a fun event.
It was in stern center gardenbehind the stern center. But
yeah, just one of those oneswhere we, you never know what to
expect it. And then you alsojust another key point is that
we don't have a lot of leadtime. I mean, these campaigns
don't plan a long time inadvance. And so if we have two
weeks, we're lucky. Butgenerally, it's and then as you
(15:29):
get closer to the primary, itjust gets more hectic as more
and more candidates focus onSouth Carolina.
Mike Robertson (15:36):
Okay, let's do a quiz. Even though I think we
already have the answer thatwhat presidential candidate
arrived at the bully pulpitevent armed with a guitar and
actually played a song. He
Unknown (15:49):
won something or not just hashtag Twitter. streams
live on YouTube, but I betGangnam Style still. Alright,
Mike Robertson (15:58):
that's not a great recording. I get that. He
moved to the edge of the stage.
And I actually recorded thatwhile I was working with the
media on that one, and playedit. So I think you guys need to
Amanda (16:12):
give Okay, yeah. I
Unknown (16:14):
think it's Martin O'Malley. But I could be wrong.
Mike Robertson (16:16):
Yes, Martin O'Malley have no idea what that
song is. Yeah, it was one ofthat. He just, I guess sang it.
Different events. While he itdidn't
Unknown (16:25):
work. He? He didn't he didn't get a lot of votes. But
But yeah, he did. He was thecandidate with the guitar. His
daughter went here, right?
That's right.
Mike Robertson (16:32):
I believe so.
Okay. Okay. Let's talk about thefuture of the bully pulpit
series here. Gibbs we're seeinga lot of changes in campaigning,
we're seeing candidates reallyjust talking to prefer tight
groups, people who are likelytheir supporters, is that going
to hurt a series like the bullypulpit,
Unknown (16:50):
I'm a little concerned.
I mean, we've invited as we doevery year, we've sent
invitations out to everypresidential candidate running
for every, you know, whether onthe Democrat or Republican side,
but I think there's somedynamics in the Democratic part
of the Republican Party rightnow, that gives me a little bit
of concern. Number one, Trumphas such a big lead. And I think
a lot of these candidates arefeeling like if they don't
somehow get to him in Iowa, thenthere's going to be no South
(17:13):
Carolina. So people are spendinga ton of time in Iowa, which is
before us on the Republicanside. But look, you hit the nail
on the head, we have to getpeople who don't agree with
candidates to don't agree withdisagree on political issues in
the same room talking to eachother. Our our democracy depends
on it. In some ways, ourcivilization depends on it. And
(17:33):
so we can certainly play a bigrole. You know, we don't want
you know, we don't want anybodyto shout down a candidate. If we
invite a candidate here, we wantthe candidate to be able to, you
know, give his or her answers toquestions. But we also want our
students to ask really hard,challenging questions. And so,
yeah, I think there's a longtime. But if you're out there,
if there's any RepublicanRepublican candidates listening
(17:55):
to this podcast, come to Collegeof Charleston, you know, we've
got we will make sure you have afull room. And we will make sure
it's a great event.
Mike Robertson (18:06):
Amanda, same question, what do you think we
can do? You
Amanda (18:09):
know, I think that we continue to be a really
welcoming host, you know, and werecognize that not only
hopefully, are we providingvalue to that candidate by
putting them in front of anaudience that's engaged and
active and interested, but thatit's also really beneficial for
our students. And I think aslong as we keep our eye on the
reason why this series has beenso valuable in the past, I'm
(18:32):
hoping that that message kind ofbreaks through the clutter and
is still convincing that, youknow, this is a student audience
that wants to hear from youbecause they're trying to make
really informed decisions,right. I do think for the bully
pulpit series in general, youknow, just having to adapt and
evolve with, you know, whatwe're seeing in terms of, of
campaign events, you know,sometimes we don't have as much
(18:54):
control as we would like, butstill, again, keeping our our
eye on the mission and what'simportant is is critical.
Mike Robertson (19:01):
Amanda Gibbs, thanks for the conversation.
Unknown (19:04):
Thank you. Thank you.
Mike Robertson (19:11):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
speaking of College ofCharleston, with today's guest,
Amanda Ruth McSwain and GibbsKnotts for shownotes and more
episodes, you can visit theCollege Charleston's official
news site, the collegetoday@today.cfc.edu. You can
also find more College ofCharleston podcast episodes on
(19:35):
all major podcast platforms. I'mMike Robertson. Thank you for
listening to speaking of Collegeof Charleston.
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