Generating a laugh, Ireland worried that "Electile Dysfunction" would become the catch phrase of last week's election. Referring to signs at Republican protest rallies saying 'Democrats are Too Dumb to Vote,' she said there had been "a great deal of ageism" in the controversy surrounding Florida voting results.
The event was moderated by Michel M. Martin '80, an ABC News correspondent who spent election night in the network's studios. Martin said that criticizing exit polling or premature network calls of Florida for either candidate is condescending to the public.
"I just don't believe in the internet age we should be expected to protect adults from information," Martin said. "Maybe in the future we'll be more aggressive in reporting that they're only statistical models, but we thought people knew that."
A student interviewed after the discussion said she found it valuable.
"I was able to hear a number of different perspectives--different to varying degrees," Valerie A. Jackson '01 said. "It was something I needed to hear not just as a young person or a young voter but as a potential participant in the political process."