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Political power couple James Carville and Mary Matalin kicked off the opening session of the 114th Annual Osteopathic Medical Conference & Exposition Monday morning in New Orleans.
Delivering the keynote address, the duo spoke candidly about politics, health care reform, and their secret for maintaining a peaceful household and solid marriage despite their highly-publicized political differences. “We just ignore each other,” Matalin joked after taking the stage at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. “I turn down the television. I haven’t read his books. I haven’t even read his half of the book we wrote together.”
A well-known Democratic analyst who crafted the winning strategy behind Bill Clinton’s 1992 rise to the White House, Carville is a noted author who has managed more political campaigns than any other consultant in the world. Matalin, a Republican political strategist and contributor for CNN, is revered for her straight-talking, no-nonsense approach to today’s hot-button issues and political headlines. A veteran of numerous national political campaigns, Matalin served as deputy campaign manager on President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 re-election bid. “At our house, we still generally refer to that election as ‘the recent unpleasantness,’” Matalin joked during Monday’s opening session.
Discussing health care reform, Carville noted that drawing more people into the system to subsidize health care for uninsured Americans is the driving force behind lawmaker efforts to craft a reform bill. "What they are trying to do is come up with a way to get the young, healthy person to buy health insurance, which will subsidize the 55-year-old with diabetes and high blood pressure so he can get health insurance," he said.
When it comes to politics, Carville said the public should remain dubious of sensationalized media coverage of elections and campaigns. "Every election is billed as the biggest and most critical election in history. It's as if we're standing on a precipice looking into an abyss," he said. "The truth is, there will be another election tomorrow and a year from tomorrow, there will be another election. Lawmakers will go to Washington, D.C., and they will promise to change the system. They won't."
However, Carville remains optimistic about the future of politics in America. "In spite of all of this, our country has made some remarkable progress. And I expect we'll continue to make remarkable progress," he said.
Photo: James Carville delivers the keynote address during the opening session of the 114th Annual Osteopathic Medical Conference & Exposition in New Orleans. (Photos by Patrick Sinco)
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