For release: July 27, 2012
For press information, contact Curt Guenther, 901-678-2843

James Carville and Mary Matalin, one of America’s best loved political couples, will be the featured speakers at the “Political Perspectives” Centennial luncheon at 11:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 14, at the University of Memphis.

James Carville

They will discuss the political issues facing the nation today, as well as the ongoing presidential election campaign.  Otis Sanford, former managing editor of The Commercial Appeal who now holds the U of M’s Helen and Jabie Hardin Chair of Excellence in Economics/Managerial Journalism, will moderate the discussion.

The luncheon will be held in the Ballroom of the University Center on the U of M campus.  Tickets are $30 per person; a table for 10 may be reserved for $300.  The price of admission covers parking as well as the luncheon.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.memphis.edu/100lunch.

Carville, a Louisiana native, helped Democratic candidates in five states win resounding election to office before he became nationally known as the strategist who  helped Bill Clinton win the White House in 1992.  He is also a best-selling author, actor, producer, talk-show host, speaker, and restaurateur, as well as a frequent commentator and contributor on CNN.

With pollster Stanley Greenberg, Carville founded Democracy Corps, an independent, non-profit polling organization dedicated to making government more responsive to the people.

Mary Matalin

Matalin has been involved in politics since she was in college in her native Illinois.  She went to Washington, D.C., with the “Reagan Revolution” in 1981 and worked first with the Republican National Committee (RNC), then the George H.W. Bush presidential campaign, and later as Chief of Staff to RNC Chairman Lee Atwater.  In 1992 she traveled with George Bush throughout his campaign for president.

Since the Bush presidency, Matalin has hosted a successful radio talk show and CNN’s “Crossfire” program.  Today, she hosts, jointly with Arianna Huffington, a nationally syndicated radio show, “Both Sides Now.”  She is also a frequent commentator and contributor on CNN.   

Carville and Matalin co-wrote the best-seller “ All’s Fair:  Love, War, and Running for President,” which The Wall Street Journal called one of the top five best books on public relations.  The couple reside in New Orleans, where Matalin serves on the boards of several well-respected institutions and is a visiting distinguished lecturer at Loyola University and Carville is an adjunct professor for the political science department at Tulane University.

For more information about “Political Perspectives,” call 901-678-5582.