Press Release

September 24, 2004

Nationally-syndicated political commentator will speak at Lamar-Port Arthur

Story and photo(s) by Bobby Summers, Coordinator of Public Information

Mark Shields, a nationally-syndicated columnist and political commentator

Mark Shields, a nationally-syndicated columnist and political commentator, will speak at Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Tuesday, October 19, as part of the college’s 2004-05 Distinguished Lecture Series.

Shields, who is described by the Wall Street Journal as “the wittiest political journalist in America,” currently moderates CNN’s “The Capital Gang.” He previously was a member of the long-running program “Novak, Hunt and Shields” with well-known political analysts Robert Novak and Al Hunt.

Shields, a native of Massachusetts, moved to Washington, D.C., in 1964. He worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. senators William Proxmire (D-Wisconsin) and Robert F. Kennedy (D-New York).

In 1970, Shields managed the successful campaign of John J. Gilligan in the race for the governorship of Ohio. The next year Shields served as the national political director for presidential candidate Edmund Muskie of Maine.

Shields started writing political columns for the Washington Post in 1979. In 1987, he joined noted political consultant David Gergen to do political analysis for the “MacNeil/Lehrer Hour.”

Since 1993, Shields and Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal have been on “The News Hour” Lehrer every Friday night during primary elections, national political conventions and the lead up to general elections.

Shields’ 1984 book, “On the Campaign Trail,” provided insight into the inner workings of 1984 presidential race between Walter Mondale and the incumbent president, Ronald Reagan.

The Notre Dame graduate also taught courses in American politics and the press at Harvard University and the Wharton School of Business.

The Lamar-Port Arthur Distinguished Lecture Series was created to offer something unique to Lamar-Port Arthur students and the community. The first lecturer in the series was Dr. Arthur Miller, a Harvard law professor and ABC television consultant.

Among the more than 27 speakers who have appeared at Lamar-Port Arthur are such notables as former President Jimmy Carter, former Vice President Dan Quayle, psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers, newspaper columnist Molly Ivins, well-known authors David McCullough and David Baldacci, ABC chief correspondent Chris Wallace, CNN news anchor Soledad O’Brien, former astronaut James Lovell, former Polish president Lech Walesa, actor James Earl Jones, Olympic medal winner Cathy Rigby, inner city high school principal Joe Clark, professional basketball star Cynthia Cooper, anti-crime television show host John Walsh, former U.S. Senate majority leader George Mitchell and former con artist Frank Abagnale, whose life inspired the movie “Catch Me If You Can.”

Shields’ lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Carl A. Parker Multipurpose Center, 1800 Lakeshore Drive on the Lamar-Port Arthur campus.