'Live From the Newsroom' talks government shutdown at Widener

It was my pleasure to take our live-stream Internet show, 'Live From the Newsroom,' on the road last night to Widener University in Chester.

First things first: If you have never visited Widener, you really owe it to yourself to check it out. It truly is one of the county's hidden gems.

We were able to put on the show at the school's spectacular new Freedom Hall, home of its communications studies, computer science and informatics programs.

My thanks to an old friend, Dan Hanson, the PR wiz of Widener, for setting up the show on short notice. And special thanks to Wes Leckrone, associate professor of Government and Politcs, as well as the students from his graduate class Public Administration 503. They could not have been more gracious hosts.

We were joined by my Wednesday columnist, Chris Freind, and we talked about the 16-day government shutdown, and what the political fallout might be.

But I was struck by something that happened at the end of the show. I always like to wrap things up with something I call "The Lightning Round," in which I ask the panel to answer a single question. Last night I decided to include the students who were sitting in on our session.

I asked the panel to make a single prediction - something they believed would happen as a direct result of the government shutdown.

Not one of the students expects things to change at all. They expect us to be right back in the same position in February, wrangling over the debt crisis.

And they all seemed to possess a deep disappointment at the way things are done these days in Washington, D.C.

I would urge all of our leaders to watch the video of these young men and women, who are quickly becoming so disillusioned at what has now become the standard pattern of political stalemate in Washington. It was an eye-opener.

If you missed the show, you can catch the replay here.

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