Who will become the next president of the United States?
Answers continually circled back to that question, as journalists from Washington, D.C., participated in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s panel discussion, “Presidential Campaigns and the Presidency,” Tuesday night.
“Another Bush vs. Clinton election is very tantalizing for the press,” said Dan Lothian, moderator of the panel discussion and current journalist in residence at UTC.
Lothian is the founder of Lothian Media, a previous general assignment reporter at WDEF-News 12 here, and former CNN correspondent for the White House. The panel consisted of Kenneth Walsh, chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report; April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks; and Kevin Bohn, weekend senior producer at CNN.
Lothian fired the first round of questions at the panel, with many revolving around the differences between the last three presidents of the United States, and how that is impacting the 2016 election.
Though Rand Paul announced his candidacy earlier in the day, the panelists agreed that Jeb Bush appears to be the current Republican front-runner.
Walsh warned the audience that the Republican party will face the challenge of having too many candidates in the upcoming election.
“What you may end up having is not a winner, but a survivor,” he said. “And that is not good for the Republican party.”
The panelists also agreed that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic front-runner.
Ryan described her as a “rock star,” with a well-developed fan base and financial supporters.
“What [Clinton] is trying to do is [improve] likeablity,” Ryan said. “You’re starting to see a change … there are highlights in her hair … she is reaching out.”
Bohn agreed, and said Clinton learned in the previous election that she cannot just be a strong candidate — she needs to run as a female candidate.
“What she needs is to be personable and likeable,” he said.
Lothian joked that to keep things interesting, journalists just “pray at night that Biden runs.”
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.