Six Institute of Politics Fellows Trade Tales Of Successes and Failures In Political Life

Six fellows of the Institute of Politics of the John F. Kennedy School of Government traded stories of their political successes and failures at the first Institute Forum last night, entitled "Personal Perspectives on Politics."

Ira Einhorn, executive director of the Philadelphia Sun Day Committee and a social activist, said that although protest movements of the sixties, which he helped lead, had failed to seize political power, they succeeded in convincing people that change is necessary.

Protest leaders in the sixties were angry and sought political power, Einhorn said. Today, however, "We must change the very way we exist on this planet."

Einhorn, who led the first "be-in" protests, punctuated his talk with anecdotes. "When I went into a city, my only political capital was my body, my intelligence, and my dope," he said.

Karen Burstein, New York State Public Service Commissioner, told the audience of about 125 in the new building, "I used to be the person who was screaming at me, and now I'm being screamed at."

Burstein, who represented a Long Island district in the New York State Senate before she took her current post, said her participation in the civil rights protests of the sixties affected her for life. She added, however, "I was the only person to mess however, "I was the only person to miss Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' dog."

Nicholas R. Carbone, Deputy Mayor and Councilman of Hartford, Conn., said that he was part of "a real old-fashioned political machine." He said political machines, though sometimes corrupt, could provide local political participation for the disadvantaged, and can act in ways that are moral but not legal.

Other fellows of the Institute who spoke were Herrington J. Bryce, vice president of the Academy for Contemporary Problems; Kim F. Skerritt, former Oregon Assistant Secretary of State; and Richard L. Sneider, former ambassador to the Republic of Korea.

Sneider said his experiences with the Tongsun Park affair convinced him that foreign service officers cannot ignore the impact of domestic politics on diplomacy.

Jack Bloom, '79, chairman of the Institute of Politics student activities committee, said future speakers at the forum will include congresswoman Barbara Jordan (D-Texas), and Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham.