About Opportunity 08

As the historic 2008 election began, voters said they wanted to hear more about the issues and less about partisan politics. The wide-open primaries in both political parties and enormous debate about the direction of the country offered a unique opportunity to discuss solutions to America’s most pressing policy challenges. Opportunity 08 aimed at helping presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation, providing ideas, policy forums, and information on a broad range of domestic and foreign policy questions.

Opportunity 08: The Participants

Opportunity 08 was a project of the Brookings Institution in partnership with ABC News, and was guided by a bipartisan advisory committee chaired by Thomas E. Donilon and Kenneth M. Duberstein. Mr. Donilon has been a senior advisor to Democratic presidents and presidential candidates for 20 years, and served as assistant secretary of state for public affairs and chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher during the Clinton Administration. Mr. Duberstein has served several presidents and administrations in a variety of capacities. Most notably, he was chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan and managed the transition of the presidency to George H.W. Bush. Mr. Duberstein also served as counselor to Presidents Nixon and Ford and continues his service as an informal adviser to congressional leadership.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow in Brookings's Foreign Policy program, directed Opportunity 08, and our advisory council provided support and guidance for the project:

Opportunity 08: Advisory Council

The Opportunity 08 Advisory Council provided support and guidance for the project.

Wendy Abrams
Herbert Allen III, President, Allen & Co. LLC
Zoe Baird, President, the Markle Foundation
Geoffrey Boisi, Chairman and Senior Partner, Roundtable Investment Partners LLC
Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr., Chair, O'Melveny & Myers LLP
John C. Danforth, Partner, Bryan Cave LLP
Thomas E. Donilon, Partner, O'Melveny & Meyers LLP
Kenneth M. Duberstein, Chairman and CEO, The Duberstein Group, Inc.
Todd Fisher, Partner, Kravis Kohlberg Roberts & Co. LLC
Cyrus F. Freidheim, Jr., Retired Chairman of the Board and CEO, Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Michael Froman, Managing Director, Citigroup Alternative Investments
Carolyn Greenspan, Principal, The Ruben Group
Brian L. Greenspun, Chairman and CEO, The Greenspun Corporation
Joseph Gutman, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Oliver Henkel, Executive Director of Government Relations, Cleveland Clinic
Glenn H. Hutchins, Founder and Managing Partner, Silver Lake Partners
Lew Kaden, Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Office, Citigroup Financial Services
Mickey Kantor, Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP
Susan King, Vice President, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Fred Malek, Founder and Chairman, Thayer Capital Partners
Jim McCann, Founder and CEO, 1-800-Flowers
Judith McHale, Former CEO, Discovery Communications
Thomas F. McLarty, III, President, Kissinger McLarty Associates
John Edward Porter, Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLC
Robert Quinn, Retired Partner, Salomon Brothers
Marshall Rose, Chairman, Georgetown Company 
Marshall Ruben, Principal, The Ruben Group
Senator Warren Rudman, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Joshua Steiner, Managing Principal, The Quadrangle Group
Casey Wasserman, Chairman, Wasserman Media Group
Carol W. Wilner, Assistant Vice President for External Affairs, AT&T