Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller provide their insights on one of the most unusual presidential inaugurations in American history and how historians will view the Trump legacy.

This video is approximately sixteen minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

The COVID lockdown has been isolating and sometimes lonely. My days are mostly spent with my enthusiastic, yet strangely tongue-tied wonder dog; the ever-patient Luke, who herds me from room to room until he finally positions me in front of the box of dog treats, or into the car for the short drive to his favorite twice-daily walk destination. He is strictly apolitical, although I think he will like the Bidens, who will understand the concept of frequent dog treats. He hasn’t had much to say about books or movies or even Bridgerton. He is napping right now, just a few feet away from me. He is a comfort and is an abiding presence, but he doesn’t contribute much to the conversation.

When we are going through our daily paces, and adding up the 10,000 steps, I rely on various podcasts to keep me company. Some days I only listen to Slate Magazine podcasts. There is nothing like a brisk half hour spent with Mike Pesca and The Gist to get me going in the morning. His lively take on politics and world events is always clear-sighted and trenchant, and yet, hilarious. Considering how complicated, and pared-down, our lives are right now, it is good to turn to an intelligent interpretation of complicated and intimidating world scenarios. https://slate.com/podcasts/the-gist And the man who would hire the Pizza Rat performance artist to help him propose marriage surely has a lively range of interests.

For pop culture I adore the cheerful folks at NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. I would love to have Linda Holmes and her dog stop by for cocktails when this is all over. She is gentle in her criticisms, and is jolly and positive about almost everything. If she likes a television show or a YA book or another movie that has gone straight to Netflix, I add it to my list. And recently the show has gone from weekly to a five-day-a-week format. Good news! https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour

I have never been good at keeping up with popular music, even back in the day when I was buying physical albums or cassettes. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto Jessie Ware’s podcast Table Manners. She is a pop singer who has gained world-wide popularity for the weekly food podcast that she does with her mother, the ever-charming Lennie. https://www.jessieware.com/podcasts/ They chat up foodies, pop stars, film directors, actors, and activists all while drinking cocktails, cooking food, eating Friday supper, or Christmas nibbles, while talking about school lunches, life and food during lockdown, favorite restaurants they can’t wait to revisit, desert island meals, and favorite childhood meals. You will learn lots, all while being disarmed by the hilarious Wares.

The Slate Culture Gabfest podcast is among my faves, I must admit. I’ve been listening to them for about 10 years, so theirs are the voices of old and trusted friends that I have in my head every week. https://slate.com/podcasts/culture-gabfest Julia Turner, Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are the three erudite personalities who discuss books, art and culture, signage, silent movies, Kant, Need A House? Call Ms. Mouse!, music, nutmeg, Phoebe Bridgers and recently, coq au vin. And I have lifted the coq au vin for this week’s Food Friday, oh patient Gentle Reader.

Dana Stevens mentioned that it was her family’s tradition to prepare coq au vin for Thanksgiving instead of the predictable roasted turkey. She waxed poetical about the cooking aromas that wafted through their house all day, and what a lovely meal it was to share, with friends, by candlelight. (And very kindly she shared their recipe with me on Twitter – the internet is just amazing, don’t you think? https://www.cookstr.com/recipes/coq-au-vin-5 )

We couldn’t have any friends for Christmas dinner, but we did have lots of candles, and coq au vin is what we prepared. As this is going to be a long, cold winter, I suggest you cook it one weekend. It fills the day with cooking activities, and warm companionable time in the kitchen. I was the observer while Mr. Sanders cooked the bacon, cut the bird apart, dredged and browned the chicken pieces, sliced and diced the carrots and onions, trimmed the parchment paper, and braised the bird.

I did make the mashed potatoes for our starchy side dish, and I baked a flourless chocolate cake for dessert, so don’t think I was a total lazy git. But it is always nice to settle back and watch someone else do the cooking, don’t you think? Thank you, Dana Stevens. It was a delicious meal, and maybe we will have a new coq au vin tradition.

“If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken.”
Ina Garten

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller discuss the fast-track path of the House of Representatives took in voting to impeach President Donald Trump a second time, and words of advice to the new President on how to manage Donald Trump once he leaves the White House.

This video is approximately thirteen minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

Like many other Mid-Shore organizations, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy had quite a number of plans and programs to celebrate in 2020. In their case, the land conservation organization was eager to acknowledge their three decades of saving the great landscapes on the Eastern Shore.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 had other plans for the ELSC. With Maryland’s “stay at home” order in March, the organization’s staff had to abandon their headquarters at Easton’s Conservation Center, and had to postpone or freeze dozens of programs.

But, as ESLC’s communications director Darius Johnson points out in his interview the Spy last week, a remarkable amount of work still was accomplished in 2020. In fact, major progress was made with two of the their flagship projects, the restoration of the Packing House in Cambridge, and moving forward with their long range rollout of the Delmarva Oasis project.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy please go here.

Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment.

This week, From and Fuller agree on Trump’s removal from office, a Andy Harris censure, Georgia Senate Results and the nomination of Merrick Garland as Joe Biden’s Attorney General.

This video is approximately thirteen minutes in length. To listen to the podcast version, please use this link:

Background

While the Spy’s public affairs mission has always been hyper-local, it has never limited us from covering national, or even international issues, that impact the communities we serve. With that in mind, we were delighted that Al From and Craig Fuller, both highly respected Washington insiders, have agreed to a new Spy video project called “The Analysis of From and Fuller” over the next year.

The Spy and our region are very lucky to have such an accomplished duo volunteer for this experiment. While one is a devoted Democrat and the other a lifetime Republican, both had long careers that sought out the middle ground of the American political spectrum.

Al From, the genius behind the Democratic Leadership Council’s moderate agenda which would eventually lead to the election of Bill Clinton, has never compromised from this middle-of-the-road philosophy. This did not go unnoticed in a party that was moving quickly to the left in the 1980s. Including progressive Howard Dean saying that From’s DLC was the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

From’s boss, Bill Clinton, had a different perspective. He said it would be hard to think of a single American citizen who, as a private citizen, has had a more positive impact on the progress of American life in the last 25 years than Al From.”

Al now lives in Annapolis and spends his semi-retirement as a board member of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University (his alma mater) and authoring New Democrats and the Return to Power. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins’ Krieger School and recently agreed to serve on the Annapolis Spy’s Board of Visitors.

For Craig Fuller, his moderation in the Republican party was a rare phenomenon. With deep roots in California’s GOP culture of centralism, Fuller, starting with a long history with Ronald Reagan, leading to his appointment as Reagan’s cabinet secretary at the White House, and later as George Bush’s chief-of-staff and presidential campaign manager was known for his instincts to find the middle ground. Even more noted was his reputation of being a nice guy in Washington, a rare characteristic for a successful tenure in the White House.

Craig has called Easton his permanent home for the last five years, where now serves on the boards of the Academy Art Museum, the Benedictine School, and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.  He also serves on the Spy’s Board of Visitors.

With their rich experience and long history of friendship, now joined by their love of the Chesapeake Bay, they have agreed through the magic of Zoom, to talk inside politics and policy with the Spy every Thursday.

It is sometimes surprising, even to its editors, that the Spy over the last ten years has a robust news archive, particularly on our YouTube channel, on what 1st District Congressman Andy Harris has said over the years on several subjects.

In today’s case, we thought we would share the Spy’s Dave Wheelan’s question in late September to Representative Harris regarding President Trump’s willingness to accept the 2020 presidential election results.

Given the recent events in Washington today, we thought it relevant with our readers tonight.

This video is approximately one minute in length.