Brookings Institution and ABC News Launch Joint Project

The Brookings Institution announced today that it is joining with ABC News to launch a new project to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation. The new Opportunity 08 project and its website, www.opportunity08.org, will provide policy ideas and information on a broad range of issues facing America’s next president. It will also serve as a forum to discuss solutions to America’s most pressing policy challenges.

As part of the project, more than 20 experts from the Brookings Institution will publicly present policy ideas for America’s next president on a wide array of domestic and foreign policy questions, including tax policy, energy security, the deficit and Iraq. Those ideas will also be featured on the ABC News website at www.abcnews.go.com/politics and on ABC News Now, which provides live 24/7 news coverage online, on television and on mobile devices.

“Americans are increasingly demanding more than sound-bites,” said Brookings President Strobe Talbott. “They’re looking for fresh thinking, constructive ideas, and imaginative but realistic solutions to the pressing issues of the day. Opportunity 08 will provide candidates and the public with the opportunity to get the facts and discuss ideas to move our nation forward.

“By partnering with ABC News, we’re taking our reach to a new level,” he added. “Together we will reach millions of interested Americans on-line and through their PDAs and cell phones. We’re offering the public a chance to log on and read about possible solutions to both domestic and foreign policy challenges. And we’re encouraging candidates and their staff to do the same.”

Political analysis will also be posted on the Opportunity 08 website as a way of covering the policy dimension of the presidential race, rather than simply the “horserace” aspect of the campaign.

Opportunity 08 will be launched on February 28 and will feature three panel discussions focused on a variety of issues that will influence the 2008 campaign. The first panel will be moderated by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos and will include Opportunity 08 advisory committee chairs Kenneth Duberstein, former Chief of Staff to President Reagan and an advisor to every Republican president since Nixon, and Thomas Donilon, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Warren Christopher and a Democratic presidential advisor for more than 20 years.

The second panel on foreign policy will be moderated by former Pentagon spokeswoman and ABC News consultant Torie Clarke, and a third panel will cover domestic policy.

To sign up to attend the event and to receive regular Opportunity 08 updates, visit www.opportunity08.org.