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Australian American Leadership Dialogue -- Melbourne
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I'm into the second day of an extraordinary set of meetings, the 15th annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue, staged in Melbourne, Australia. They are extraordinary because of the seriousness and general candor of discussions ranging from climate change policy challenges to the mess in Iraq to brewing issues in Asia and with China.
These sessions are also extraordinary because of who is here.
Former and current Labor Party leaders Kim Beazley and ascending political superstar and prime minister probable Kevin Rudd have virtually attended the entire meeting. In a Rudd government, Beazley -- who has one of the most distinguished set of ministerial and party tenures and is retiring from Parliament -- is rumored to be the next Australian Ambassador to the U.S.
But the Howard government is well represented as well. Peter Costello, who many think will succeed Howard as head of the Liberal Party (the Tories here), has been here throughout the sessions -- as Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
I had breakfast with the likely next Treasurer of Australia Wayne Swan who is now the Shadow Treasurer in the Labor Party. This is a small conference -- maybe 100 delegates if that -- and the diversity on the Australian side is perfect, and the civility among parties here is extremely impressive.
On the American side, the diversity and serious players here are also impressive. The new founding CEO and President respectively of the Center for New American Security Kurt Campbell and Michele Flournoy are here. Paul Wolfowitz wearing his new American Enterprise Institute hat is here. Norm Ornstein, Thomas Mann, and EJ Dionne are here. So is Lael Brainard of Brookings and the first Ned Lamont of Connecticut Senate races -- Joe Duffey, who ran for the Senate in Connecticut as a Democrat the year that Lowell Weicker won. Anne Wexler -- super lobbyist and political influencer in Democratic political circles -- is here and has organized much of the meeting.
Former Ambassador-equivalent to Taiwan Douglas Paal, IT wunderkind Larry Irving, Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, and former New Republic Editor Peter Beinart are part of the American delegation. Charlie Cook -- one of America's great interpreters of campaigns -- gave a brilliant talk here yesterday morning. And former CIA Director Porter Goss sat a couple seats from me at breakfast and did a tour of the Victoria Governor's mansion with me. I've been a critic of Goss's regime in the past, but between Goss and James Woolsey in such a role -- I prefer Goss.
Clinton domestic policy adviser Bruce Reed, Obama advisor and Brookings fellow Susan Rice, former Clinton administration Asst Secretary of State Stanley Roth, and former Pennsylvania Republican Congressman and race car driver Bob Walker are here.
Phil Scanlan, founder of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, is proud of the fact that in 15 years, no one has leaked any of the internal conversations of the conference. I won't either. . .unless I get permission from one of the speakers or commentators to do so which is allowed by the rules.
But I will say that this kind of encounter is a great template for meetings focused on serious policy quagmires. We don't have many sessions in the U.S. where so many obvious political and intellectual rivals (even enemies) work through problems and have serious, clear-headed discussions.
We are deep into commentary now by UC San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography Director Tony Haymet, scientist Larry Smarr, and Victoria Premier John Brumby on climate change policy choices and challenges.
Yesterday was the Iraq War, grand strategy, geoeconomic and geostrategic realities. No one pulled their punches -- not even me. But that's all that can be said.
More later.
-- Steve Clemons
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Did any of the neo-cons(Wolfowitz .. Dobriansky) admit any mistakes? How is Porter Goss that good? The CIA sure didn't care for him? And he couldn't stay away from criminals.
A friend of mine, Albert lee, is playing a gig in Melbourne on Tuesday. If you are still there, Steve, I consider him the finest guitar player in the world. He's well worth seeing. Trust me, it'll beat the hell out of listening to Wolfowitz's bullshit.
Working the guitar road
Bruce Elder
August 17, 2007
"He's a musician's musician" is one of those cliches designed to explain why a musician, much admired by his peers, is not enjoying eulogistic adulation from the public. It is hard to think of another musician as little known, and as widely admired, as English-born guitarist Albert Lee.
Over 30 years ago Glenn Cornick, one-time bass player with Jethro Tull, argued that Lee, who at the time was a member of the little-known band Head, Hands and Feet, was actually a much better guitarist than either Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix. That accolade was not exceptional. It was typical.
Throughout Lee's career the eulogies have poured down on him from the cream of musicians. Clapton is on record as saying Lee is "the greatest guitarist in the world". Emmylou Harris was, if possible, even more enthusiastic when she described Lee as "a brilliant guitar player. His sound is unmistakable, often emulated never equalled. When St Peter asks me to chronicle the highlights of my time down here on earth, I'll be able to say (with pride if that's allowed) that for a while I played rhythm guitar in a band with Albert Lee."
"Where's the money to show for it?" asks Lee from his home in Los Angeles. "It didn't quite materialise."
But is this low profile and huge reputation a result of someone who consciously wanted to keep out of the spotlight? "Oh no. Not at all. I've always wanted to be out there making music and be successful at it. I guess that most of the time most of my music wasn't in the mainstream. I followed a path that interested me but didn't interest the world at large."
This probably accounts for Lee's relative lack of success. As he explains "I haven't thought career-wise. I've just been thinking musically. I can't afford to retire and I wouldn't want to anyway because I love to play.
"All the guys of my age, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, we all started out listening to early rock'n'roll . . . Then a lot of the guys moved to players like BB King and Freddie King and they became heavier players. I went the other direction.
"I felt like the odd man out in the late 1960s in England because everyone was getting big Marshall stacks and really cranking it up and playing Les Pauls and whatever. I was playing a Telecaster with a little Fender amp. No one else was playing with that kind of set up."
Realising that blues-crazy England was not receptive to his style of music, Lee decamped to America in the early 1970s and over the years he has played with dozens of country-style outfits including The Everly Brothers (for nearly 20 years) and Emmylou Harris.
Albert Lee may not be a household name. But, at the age of 63, he is still working, still hugely admired and still a guitarist of choice for discriminating musicians.
If you think his appearance in Australia is just another journeyman muso doing the rounds, think again. In the past few weeks, he has played in Chicago, Las Vegas and Toronto and, after Australia he will return to Los Angeles, have less than a week's rest, and then head off on a five-week tour of Europe playing with his own band, Hogan's Heroes, and with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. It is simple. He's a working musician.
Albert Lee plays the Corner Hotel on Tuesday.
POA -- that's a bummer! I will be in Sydney on Tuesday. I just heard the Shadow Minister for Climate Change speak -- Peter something or the other -- who was in Midnight Oil....and the guy was brilliant...more soon, Steve
"No one has leaked any of the internal conversations of the conference." Yes, the foreign policy/national security mob is definitely good at keeping secrets from we, the people...
POA, nice commentary about Lee. Glad to see you're still a part of TWN community.
Steve, how about asking Goss how it was having lunch with Mahmud Ahmed, one of the money men behind Atta? You might want to ask why he was never pursued, indicted, or questioned. It would be interesting to know why Pakistan was declared an ally, when they had their top ISI general shipping Atta money, and dining with the ilk of Goss and Graham on 9/11.
"POA, nice commentary about Lee"
My daughter went to school with Albert's daughter, and I came to know Albert and his wife quite well. Albert would get together with musician friends in a little local dive outside of Agoura, near Thousand Oaks, and jam. Many of those jams were far more enjoyable than big name concerts I have attended.
If you want to hear some real smile invoking roots music, pick up the "Bill Wyman and the Rythm Kings" CDs. I know there are three of them, there might even be four now. Its a cooperative effort, and the list of contributing artists is amazing. Clapton, Frampton, Wyman, the list goes on and on. Also, I highly recommend Albert's old CD, "Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes,In Full Flight." Its a CD that was cut at a gig he played live at the Montreux.
After one listens to Albert's flawless and unique guitar playing, you'd be hard pressed to claim anyone even approaches his skill level. The guy is amazing.
POA:
Your pal is Albert Lee? Great to know he's still at it--even back in high school (ages ago) Lee wasn't too well-remembered. I played every recording by Lee I could find. And interesting they referenced Glenn Cornick--whose work with Tull is amazing.
Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett was all over environmental and indigenous issues early on, earning expertise and cred by the early-to-mid 1980s. The real deal.
POA:
Your pal is Albert Lee? Great to know he's still at it--even back in high school (ages ago) Lee wasn't too well-remembered. I played every recording by Lee I could find. And interesting they referenced Glenn Cornick--whose work with Tull is amazing.
Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett was all over environmental and indigenous issues early on, earning expertise and cred by the early-to-mid 1980s. The real deal.
Wow, Small world, Steve.
Say hello to Anne and Joe for me. I was the person who talked Joe into running for the Senate.
It was at the State Convention in CT. in 1968. He was Chairman of the Gene McCarthy for President campaign in CT. I was Floor Manager of the McCarthy Delegates at the convention in Hartford. John Bailey was our State Chairman and the National chairman. We wanted proportional representation on the slate of delegates to the National convention in Chicago, but we only had 25% of the state delegates, not enough to elect a slate of national delegates. To force the issue, I begged Joe Duffey to let us place his name in nomination to force a primary against Senator Abe Ribicoff. We only needed 20% of the delegates to do that. He agreed and they gave us 9 seats to Chicago if we didn't do it. I came home from Chicago with a paid position on Abe Ribicoff's campaign staff. At the time, Lanny Davis was Ribicoff's adminstrative assistant.
Then in 1970, Duffey challenged Senator Tom Dodd to a primary, won the nomination but lost to Lowell Weicker in a three way race because Tom Dodd ran as an independent.
There's a funny backstory in that campaign involving Nixon's pollster, Tully Plesser. I knew through my studies at Sarah Lawrence College, that Tully Plesser was the best pollster for political polling, so I arranged for Joe Duffey to meet with Plesser. He agreed to do the polling,and they agreed on a price.
Then, Nixon found out and ordered Plesser not to work for Duffey. He cancelled his contract. Lowell Weicker won and called for the Watergate investigation.
Divine justice anyone?
I'm a new friend of Steve's -- I've been associated with the Australian aide of this Leadership Dialogue since its inception. Steve made a huge contribution here, and the New America Foundation is now on the the radar of Australian political leaders. What happens in America certainly rsonates here, but the contours of thinking and strategic engagement in Asia that arise from here have a bearing on America's fortunes as well. So anew line of communication and discussion with Steve and NAF.
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