1960

Even though President Clinton is getting battered by the Washington press, he's got a fair amount of good will heading his way from our class, if my latest, (very) unscientific poll is any indication. Kevin O'Sullivan, a rigorous political independent, said he voted happily for Clinton, whom he thinks will give the country "a tremendous boost in the right direction." Kevin says that Clinton did great things in Arkansas to implement his professional specialty—"total quality management"—in state government. Former executive director of the American Society for Training and Development, Kevin is Washington regional director for Organizational Dynamics Inc.

Far more impressive—in fact, record-setting for our class, as of now—Kevin became a dad last September 18, at a time when most of the rest of us are becoming grandparents or are thinking about the prospect. Michael Patrick O'Sullivan, if he studies hard, will be class of '14. Kevin and Lynda have a son, Jack, who's four, and Kevin also has twin daughters, aged 30.

Also pro-Clinton are Jerry Gurst, Kurt Buerger, Mel Converse, and Tom Andrews. Tom Hickey and Dudley Smith are not on the bandwagon.

"Originally a Republican," but now a Democrat-leaning independent, Kurt is a professor of accounting at Angelo State University in West Texas. Kurt got a Ph.D. in physics and started teaching it in Wisconsin, then became dean of Lakeland College in Sheboygan, learned about management, got an M.B.A., and switched to accounting. He moved to Texas when he found out it's green in March, instead of slush-covered. Kurt said he's concerned about Clinton because "the piranha fish of the media are in a feeding frenzy" over early mistakes.

Mel, also an independent, says he didn't vote for Clinton but has begun to think he can "get something done for a change." Mel is the deputy clerk of the circuit court of Loudon County, Va. Jerry Gurst, professor of chemistry at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, says he voted enthusiastically for Clinton.

Tom Andrews, a Democrat and "flaming liberal" since college, a year at Yale Divinity School, and a stint in the Peace Corps, says he's "ecstatic" about Clinton. Tom formerly taught law at the University of North Carolina, then practiced in Durham and ran for a judgeship. For the last six years he's been legal counsel for the North Carolina court system.

Tom Hickey, a banker in Joliet, Ill., for 20 years, voted for Bush and has a picture of himself with George and Barbara hanging on his office wall. Nevertheless, he said he "had a lot of hope" for Clinton between the election and the inauguration. He finds Clinton's early performance "disappointing," however. Tom is chairman of his county chamber of commerce and economic development council and is a major booster of riverboat gambling, which has revived formerly down-at-heels Joliet.

Dud Smith, also a committed Republican, said he had a hard time voting for Bush, but did so because of doubts about Clinton's character. He remains worried about the "socialist aspect" of Clinton, "the idea that we'll take away from those who do well in order to give to those who don't work." Dudley has arranged for Barry MacLean, a member of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, to answer questions about Dartmouth governance through the class newsletter. Great idea.

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