Former Congressman Harold E. Ford, Jr., Speaks at Bunker Hill Community College

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Nov 02, 2012, 05:15 ET

BOSTON, Nov. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a wide-ranging speech on Thursday, November 1, at Bunker Hill Community College, former U.S. Congressman and NBC news analyst Harold E. Ford, Jr., discussed the lack of compromise and bi-partisan action in Congress and the impact of Super PACs on the upcoming election. Ford made his remarks before an audience of College and community members as part of the College's Compelling Conversations speaker series, now in its ninth year.

Ford, a self-described conservative Democrat, lamented the lack of detailed discussions of key issues in the Presidential race, saying that candidates have spent insufficient time outlining their specific vision for the future. "I think both of these candidates—to a large extent—chose to run narrow campaigns," he said.

He urged students to keep an open mind, even about candidates they think they disagree with, and to press their points while always remembering, "you could be wrong."

A Democrat who represented Tennessee's 9th District from 1997 to 2007, Ford was defeated in his bid for U.S. Senate in 2006 by a narrow margin. He is now a Professor of Public Policy at the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and he comments on political issues as a news analyst for NBC-TV. He has authored a book entitled More Davids than Goliaths, which reflects on his life in politics.

Bunker Hill Community College's popular Compelling Conversations speaker series has hosted actress America Ferrera, New York Times columnist Gail Collins, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta and political analyst Juan Williams, among others.

Media Contact:
Karen M. Norton, Executive Director of Integrated Marketing and Communications
Bunker Hill Community College, 250 New Rutherford Avenue, Boston, MA 02129
Phone: (617) 228-2177; Email: [email protected]

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 13,400 students on two campuses and at three satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Seventy-seven percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 810 international students who come from more than 95 countries and speak 75 different languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College