| Another characteristic of most politicians is the subliminal desire to be a professor. I am having the opportunity to fulfill that yearning.
Since September, I have been a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. As a fellow in the Institute of Politics, I have led a study group of undergraduates, faculty and citizens through the outline of What Every Citizen Needs to Know to Make Democracy Respond to Them. Through presentations by outside speakers such as the Governor of Wisconsin, political consultant Anita Dunn, pollster Geoff Garin, and Jimmy Buffet (yes, that Jimmy Buffet), my comments and the questions and comments of the students, we explored how to overcome the "you can't fight city hall" attitude which keeps many citizens from participating in civic action.
In February, 2006, I will move my desk up two flights of stairs to the Belfer Center, the component of the Kennedy Center which focuses on science, international relations and national security. Until the semester is over in June, I will be concentrating on the development of training programs for lay people who are trussed in to the use or oversight of clandestine intelligence. This is in partial response to my concern for the deficiencies in America's human intelligence.
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| Establishment of the Bob Graham Centers:
While I have spent most of my last four months at Harvard, living in the Mather House residence hall, from long distance I have been working with the University of Miami and the University of Florida on the establishment of the Bob Graham Centers. These policy Centers will focus on subjects of significant interest to the nation and Florida and for which Florida is an especially appropriate site for training and research. The initial three subjects will be homeland security, with a primary emphasis on the preparation of the next generation of intelligence officers through an ROTC like undergraduate program; The Americas, opportunities to encourage and support north-south initiatives; and public leadership, equipping current and future Floridians for the challenges of public leadership. All this excitement will start with the 2006-2007 academic year.
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