The Sorensen Institute’s College Leaders Program (CLP) brings together young Virginians each summer for a month-long, intensive civic and political education experience at the University of Virginia. The students hail from all corners of the Commonwealth and represent a variety of colleges and universities. This summer’s CLP attended the filming of “The American Candidate” to provide students with the opportunity to experience a political debate up-close and allow them to further their campaigning skills by evaluating the factors that make a particular candidate more effective than others. While the program’s focus is on Virginia government and policy, the “American Candidate” allowed them to momentarily broaden their horizons to issues important on the national level. The program strives to foster informed, thoughtful, and active citizens; the “American Candidate” provided an environment to supplement that mission by coupling education with entertainment.

Here are some of the responses to questions about the series by some of the participants (Monica Sober, electronic mail, June 23, 2004):

Did you find it educational?

Ashley Boyd: "It was educational in showing citizens how to participate in the process and allowing the candidates to share their views, but not about the issues"

Harry Godfrey: "Hardly, rarely have a group of people -- who I've seen been more abundant in their platitutes and sparing in specific policies."

Do you know more about issues than before you attended the town meeting?

Ashley Bolding: "No, I don't know anymore about issues -- I think that the candidates simply subscribed to the common and general view without really expanding on detailed views."

How do you think candidates did relative to Bush and Kerry, who have declared that they are running for president?

Steven Jones: "These candidates are way too extreme, way to polarized, and way to unwilling to compromise to really be elected to public office."

If you watched the Democratic debates for president, how do you think American Candidates compared yesterday with the way nominees presented themselves and answered questions in those debates?

Paul Anderson: "The democratic party is not as liberal as the four liberals on this panel. Even Howard Dean was more electable than these men and women."

Melissa Bell: "The men and women in American Candidate are not qualified to serve as the Commander-In-Chief, at least the Democratic nominees held some form of office on a large scale."

Mariam Ouhamou: "Whether for better or worse, these "candidates" actually presented polar issues salient to the public whereas mainstream candidates straddle the fence."

For more, see Participant in Sorensen Institute's Program Reports on the 'American Candidate' Series and Other Matters.