What does the outcome of the 2008 Presidential Race mean to Central Texas, and how might it impact Austin’s upcoming elections? If all politics is local—as former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill auggested—how do national issues such as the Wall Street bailout, the War in Iraq, and immigration filter into Austin’s pressing topics of infrastructure and transit systems, alternative energy development, and a healthy social and cultural economy?

Wayne Slater and David Butts

Speakers:

• David Butts – Political Consultant
• Wayne Slater – Senior Political Writer, Dallas Morning News
• Moderated by Jim Walker – Executive Director, Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project

References from the discussion:

• Wayne Slater columns at The Dallas Morning News
• Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project
• Map of electoral shifts between the 2004 and 2008 elections

Audio:

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