Allison Montroy
amontroy@mustangdaily.net
James Carville and Mary Matalin are proof opposites do attract. But they do not always agree.
In fact, this staunch Democrat and steadfast Republican, respectively, love to debate — and will onstage Oct. 14 at the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC), just in time for the November elections.
“James and Mary are very important political pundits in the whole world of political commentators,” Cal Poly Arts Director Steven Lerian said.
Because of the couple’s long-standing close ties with their respective political parties, “both are political insiders and can offer the community varied points of view that will inform people’s decisions on the election and politics in general,” Lerian said.
What makes watching a live political debate from opposing parties much more interesting than watching a broadcast on a major news network is the opportunity for audience feedback, Lerian said.
According to Lerian, Carville and Matalin do not typically go on-screen together, but tend to do separate appearances on television.
“I think it will be fun from an entertainment standpoint to see that sort of banter and arguing going on on the stage that I don’t think you get to see as much on the screen,” Lerian said.
To keep the dialogues on track, former news director for KCBX Guy Rathbun will be moderating the event.
At the forefront of news for many years, Rathbun knows the topics that will appeal to people, and will tailor questions that will keep people’s interest here on the Central Coast, Lerian said.
Lerian said Cal Poly has not traditionally presented many national and international speakers.
“To me that seems sort of tragic, especially since we have a performing arts center that is a nice venue for major speakers,” Lerian said. “I’m hoping that this high profile nature of these speakers will be sort of a launching point for us to do more like this.”
Lerian said one of the highlights of the evening will be the audience interaction.
“People come up with good questions, put them on spot a little bit, get them off their canned talking points, which of course they have,” he said.
Cal Poly students will also have the unique opportunity to ask Carville questions in a free pre-show event 5-5:45 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.
“I think a lot of students will be at the Q&A,” chemistry sophomore and Cal Poly Democrats President Ian Tsurumoto said. “James Carville is an interesting gentleman with a long career in politics.”
Tsurumoto said students can learn a lot about important measures — such as Proposition 30 — from the event, especially with this year’s upcoming elections.
“There is a lot of lack of awareness on campus,” Tsurumoto said. “And voting is important because it determines the track our country will be on.”
With Carville and Matalin onstage together later in the evening, the audience will see there is a lot more in common between the opposing parties than people might realize, Tsurumoto said.
“We’re all (Democrats and Republicans) working toward the same goal,” Tsurumoto said.
Students who would like to pose questions to both Carville and Matalin can send their questions to Cal Poly Arts this week, and the best questions will be used by the moderator during the dialogue. Chosen students will also have the opportunity to meet the speakers at the reception before the show.
Political science department chair Craig Arceneaux said he hopes students take advantage of that event.
“It’s an opportunity for the students because the two speakers actually have experience as political analysts,” Arceneaux said. “They both have first-hand experience representing both sides of the political spectrum of the United States.”
Carville and Matalin’s dynamic both as political pundits and as a married couple makes them a fascinating pair both onstage and offstage.
“Not only are they on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but they’re also husband and wife,” Arceneaux said. “I’d like to see how they work that out at night.”
Lerian agreed.
“Can you imagine being that diverse in opinion and being married,” Lerian said. “What’s the dinner table conversation like? It astounds me how they can put their work away enough to sort of live together, let that go and just talk about football.”
The evening starts at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the PAC ticket office or online at Cal Poly Arts’ website.