Gary Hart, a former Colorado senator considering a run for the
Democratic nomination in the 2004 presidential election, is
scheduled to speak at the Anderson School at UCLA on Tuesday.
A brief speech by Hart will be followed by a discussion between
him, Merli Baroudi and Anderson Forecaster Edward Leamer about the
U.S. economy and the implications of politics on the economy.
Baroudi currently serves as the director of country risk
services for the Economist Intelligence Unit, which assesses
business operating risks in 60 countries in conjunction with The
Economist magazine. Leamer is director of the Anderson Forecast and
provides quarterly projections of the economy for California and
the United States.
Currently a senior counsel for the multinational law firm
Coudert Brothers and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,
Hart served as senator of Colorado from 1975-1987.
He sought the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1984,
and again in 1988 when his campaign was considered by many as the
forerunner until he was forced to drop out in May 1987 from a sex
scandal involving model Donna Rice.
Since then, Hart has been actively involved in a number of
activities ranging from book-writing and speech-making to serving
as co-chair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the
Twenty-first Century.
In 1999 the commission predicted terrorist attacks on the United
States, and after performing a comprehensive review of national
security, it proposed an overhaul of U.S. national security
policies and the creation of a homeland security department.
Contemplating another run for the Democratic nomination, Hart is
expected to announce in March whether he will plunge into a pool
packed with credible candidates including former House Minority
Leader Richard Gephardt of Montana, former Vermont governor Howard
Dean, former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, Rep. Dennis
Kucinich of Ohio, Reverend Al Sharpton and Sens. John Edwards of
North Carolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Joseph Lieberman of
Connecticut and Florida’s Bob Graham.
Hart, a critic of the current Bush administration’s tax
cuts and potential Iraqi war, said he is passionate about national
security, a key issue Hart may address if he decides to run.
Anderson press aide Philip Little said Hart is “testing
the waters right now,” and Hart’s speech on Tuesday is
expected to give insight into his perspective on several key issues
the United States is dealing with today.
“I think they’re going to hear his view of the
world, how he sees it,” Little said. “The economy, the
potential war with Iraq. Those sorts of issues are things
you’ll hear some discussion about.”
Hart will speak at Korn Convocation Hall in a one-hour program
that begins Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Hart event is free and open to the public. For more
information
and to register, visit
http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/alumni/calendar/events/hart.