“It’s the economy, stupid!” as James Carville, Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, famously said in 1992. Ten years later, that phrase rings just as true. The economy will no doubt play a significant role in the 2012 campaign as the public considers which candidates are best equipped to lead the country in the face of uncertain economic times.

Recognizing the importance of the economy this election season, the Miller Center partnered with ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos in the second of six special episodes as part of our 2012 Election National Discussion and Debate Series. The all-star panel featured Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, former Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, New York Times op-ed columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, former Comptroller General David Walker, and Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George Will. Watch videos of the panel and a web extra of Paul Krugman discussing inflation here. 

As recounted yesterday in Politico, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, Rick Santorum made a strong statement about John F. Kennedy's speech from September 12, 1960, in which Kennedy stressed the importance of the separation of church and state.

Kennedy famously said, "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute."

Santorum vehemently disagreed: “I don’t believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.” And he noted that the idea made him want to throw up.

In the Miller Center’s Presidential Speech Archive, we feature transcripts, audio, and video of many famous presidential speeches, including the full speech that President Kennedy gave in 1960 (the excerpt Santorum referred to begins at 1:47).

We all remember the excitement and promise of Barack Obama’s 2008 crusade for the presidency, when he memorably offered the voters “Change We Can Believe In.” But the momentous and rancorous first three years of his administration has left unclear what kind of change he represents.

By Sid Milkis and Carah Ong