MSNBC broadcasts election forum from Penn's campus

The Woodlands Ballroom at the Inn at Penn was transformed last night into a makeshift election night television studio. As part of the final broadcast of MSNBC's "Decision 2000" election coverage, 19 panelists -- of which three were students -- from the greater Philadelphia area, of which three were students assembled in a focus group to reflect on their presidential picks. "Boy, did we go to the right state in the country," proclaimed moderator Frank Luntz, an MSNBC political analyst and a high-profile Republican pollster. "Looking at exit polling, whoever wins Pennsylvania will probably be the next president." In addition to Luntz, the participants also fielded questions from MSNBC personality Chris Matthews -- who hosts the show Hardball -- out of New York City. Chosen to reflect the Philadelphia constituency, the panelists included 11 women and eight men, two African Americans and one Asian and ranged in age from college students to senior citizens. The panel was featured in short segments throughout the national broadcasts from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. During the Republican National Convention, held in Philadelphia this past summer, MSNBC conducted a similar panel composed of undecided voters from the region. Many of the same representatives participated in yesterday's group. Three Penn students -- College seniors Philip Bartlett and Kim Phan and Wharton freshman Alex Herdin -- were solicited to participate in last night's show earlier in the day while voting at the David Rittenhouse Laboratory polling site. "They were looking for people who were anywhere near Republican in Philadelphia," Herdin quipped. All of the Penn students on the panel were Republicans. Prepping the group members before the first on-air segment, Luntz -- a Penn alumnus and former American Civilization professor -- challenged them to defend their ultimate choice for president. "Bush just doesn't speak or think well on his feet," said Steve Golden, an engineer from Dresher, Pa., who ultimately voted for Gore. "Bush is more human than Gore. Gore is a political machine," rebutted Jack Hanel, a consultant from Lafayette Hill who supported Bush. The predominately pro-Gore panel listened intently as Eileen Storm, a registered Democrat from Northeast Philadelphia, recounted how she finally came to a decision while standing in the voting booth. "First I thought I should close my eyes and make a decision," the no-longer-undecided voter said. "But, then I prayed to God and voted Gore." Most, though, claimed it was the candidates' stance on certain key issues and not divine intervention that swayed their vote. Bartlett said he voted for Bush on the premise that a limited central government working to enhance the rights of the individual is the best kind of government. And spurred on by an emotional connection, registered Republican Eve Sherman, a resident of Northeast Philadelphia, decided to cross party lines and vote for Gore. "He had enough courage to [pick] a Jewish vice president," she said, justifying her selection. "His [vice presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman] wife has parents that are Holocaust survivors and my parents are also Holocaust survivors." Across the ballroom from the set, behind the glaring lights and cameramen, a folding table functioned as command central. NBC News National Producer Tom Bernthal kept close tabs on the latest election results coming in from New York headquarters via laptop and multiple cell phones and relayed it to Luntz, who used that information to incite a response from the panel. MSNBC's taping at the Inn at Penn came after a certain amount of controversy with the Annenberg Center. The network, which originally wanted to film the show in Annenberg's Zellerbach Theatre, was given a price of $22,000 for use of the facility. "Penn tries to gouge," said an angry Luntz, who frequently clashed with his School of Arts and Sciences colleagues during his tumultuous tenure at Penn. He claimed that Annenberg had still managed to charge NBC for retrieval of some signs to be used for the set. "It's the students who suffered," Luntz said. The network's initial motivation to record the panel at Zellerbach was so that Penn students would be able to fill the audience and observe the taping. But due to space constraints in the Inn at Penn room MSNBC ended up using, there was no room for an audience. Bernthal expressed disappointed at a missed opportunity for Penn students to "get an education in journalism and politics."

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