Analyst speaks at IU Auditorium

Dressed in his trademark bowtie and armed with his witty and ultra-conservative personality, Tucker Carlson, CNN political analyst, delivered his lecture "The Political Landscape" at the IU Auditorium Tuesday night to a 200-plus crowd.\nCarlson, the co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," took the stage to somewhat of an embarrassing introduction as Paul Musgrave, assistant director of lectures for the Union Board, made sure to include the fact that Carlson did not graduate from college.\n"IU looks like a wonderful place," Carlson said. "Maybe I should have gone here. But of course now we all know I didn't go here, or anywhere, for that matter." \nCarlson began with some comments on the progress with the ongoing war with Iraq, labeling the war as a "victory of optimism over pessimism." Carlson went on to say that after watching the coverage of the war, it seems clear that there was no way to disarm Saddam Hussein other than through force.\n"Many people believed victory this war was not possible, and they have been defeated," Carlson said.\nBen Carollo, the coordinator of direct admissions for the College of Arts and Sciences, said while he does not agree with Carlson's views, he enjoys hearing political views from all sides.\n"He's a lively and intelligent speaker and I wanted to hear what he had to say," Carollo said. "It's important to hear insight from a right wing speaker, especially when we're living under a relatively conservative government."\nFans who love Carlson for his right wing opinions and insults to liberals were not disappointed with last night's lecture. Carlson went on at length to point out the liberals' hatred for President Bush stems from their lack of ideas within the Democratic party.\n"The core idea among Democrats is no longer liberalism, it's hating Bush," he said. "They hate Bush because they have nothing going on in their party right now."\nWhile Carlson's views on the Democratic party caught laughs from the Republicans in the crowd, some of the liberals in attendance were not too amused. Freshman Ted Ryan said he found the lecture interesting, but he did not enjoy much of Carlson's "liberal bashing."\n"It was kind of frustrating to sit and listen to him," Ryan said. "But he had a lot of intelligent things to say and you can't argue with the fact that he's knowledgeable about politics."\nBefore concluding his lecture, Carlson discussed some of the downsides to the lack of "ideology" in Washington, D.C. Carlson said some of the important political issues lack the necessary emphasis, which is causing voters to concentrate on less important aspects like personal demeanor.\n"There is too much focus on who is appealing and which politicians we like the most, and people are losing sight of what's important," Carlson said. "I'm willing to sacrifice politeness for competence at the end of the day.