McCardell spars with Colbert on "Report"

Author: Cloe Shasha

Middlebury College President Emeritus John M. McCardell Jr. first published his views regarding the 21-year-old drinking age in a 2004 New York Times op-ed piece. This early public criticism bloomed into a widespread initiative to lower the national drinking age to 18. He started a nonprofit organization that is described on its Web site, www.chooseresponsibility.org, to spark discussion about the drinking age and to spread the initiative. A total of 135 college presidents have signed on to this movement in support of the change. McCardell appeared on "60 Minutes" on Feb. 22 and later on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" on March 19 to discuss the principles behind his movement.

McCardell managed to keep his cool as show host Stephen Colbert playfully provoked him with sarcastic questions during the live interview. At one point on air, McCardell explained the background behind his initiative - that the current drinking age has driven underage alcohol consumption into more clandestine environments, where health is put at risk more than if alcohol consumption were legal for 18-year-olds in a public atmosphere.

Colbert interjected with, "Is there any chance that this is an attempt to be voted the coolest college president of all time?"

"Well, I think I lost that contest a long time ago," McCardell responded smoothly.

McCardell later explained that it took a lot of effort to remain unfazed by Colbert, although he was astonished by how quickly the five-minute live interview went by. He was pleasantly surprised by the presence of some of his former Middlebury students in the audience who attended in his support.

"Having already been on the show, I can say it was the right decision," McCardell said. "But before doing it, I really had my doubts. Before we aired, Colbert came down the hall yelling, 'Where's McCardell? Where's McCardell? I'm taking you down tonight!' Then he got out of character and said, 'You just need to remember one thing - I am an idiot. Don't forget that, and you will do fine.'"

Other than the experience of being on the show, McCardell discussed the exclusively positive impact that his appearance on the "Colbert Report" had on the public's thoughts about the movement to lower drinking age.

"I think we might have gotten a lot of criticism if the 'Colbert Report' had turned out differently," McCardell said. "I don't think that our critics can find much, other than what they usually criticize, to criticize from what they saw on Colbert. The viewers of the show do not make up a huge demographic, but the show attracts a young, politically savvy audience. They are interested in issues, and they are very smart. So to get a shot at reaching that kind of an audience is a great opportunity."

Since the show, www.chooseresponsibility.org has had more Web hits, volunteers and subscribers. The organization even received a small increase in donations.

McCardell's experience on "60 Minutes" was very different. It was not filmed live - in fact, the show's crew began to tape him thirteen months before the episode was released. They wanted to shoot footage of him in a number of scenes including the winter of Vermont, the summer in a Boston park and typing at a computer.

"I'm not a very proficient typist," McCardell said, laughing. "And after seeing the show, my sons didn't tell me that it turned out well or anything - instead, they called me out and said, 'I cant believe that they showed you typing with two fingers!'"

McCardell was satisfied with the outcome of the "60 Minutes" episode because it evoked more public involvement in the drinking age initiative.

In recent months, McCardell has spent his time working on this initiative, including working with states to deal with the fiscal repercussions of lowering the drinking age to 18. States that lower the drinking age face losing their federal highway subsidy - a very significant penalty.

He has also been busy with a number of other projects, including work with the Civil War Museum in Richmond, Va. On April 2, he gave a talk at the College about the importance of the memory and history of the Civil War. He talked about the records that the U.S. has of this conflict and explained that people cannot understand the Civil War without understanding strategies and tactics and the military side.

"But you can't understand it if that's all you've studied," he said, in reference to the importance of different, individual memories that have been passed down and documented.

McCardell taught a Civil War seminar at Middlebury this past fall and is teaching this seminar again, along with a class called "Jefferson and Jackson, 1800-1848," in the fall of 2009.