Guest speakers Paul Burka, Jeff Eller and Harvey Kronberg will share their unique perspectives on the 2008 Presidential Election.

Paul Burka joined Texas Monthly in 1974 and serves in the capacity of executive editor, political columnist and blogger. Burka is the recipient of a National Magazine Award for reporting excellence and the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, which recognizes exemplary communications media that fosters the American public's understanding of the law and the legal system. A member of the State Bar of Texas, he spent five years as an attorney with the Texas Legislature, serving as counsel to the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Additionally, Burka is a senior political lecturer at the University of Texas and a frequent political discussion guest on national news programs such as MSNBC, Fox, NBC and CNN. 

Jeff Eller is president and CEO of Public Strategies, Inc. His areas of expertise include campaign and crisis management, lobbying and communication strategies. Featured in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes ASAP, throughout his career, Eller has used emerging technologies to successfully open new public-policy communications frontiers. According to Forbes ASAP, “Eller may, in fact, be the most linked, multiplexed, plugged-in human being on the planet—or at least in politics.” Prior to joining Public Strategies in 1994, Eller served in the Clinton White House as deputy assistant to the president and director of media affairs.

Harvey Kronberg has been covering Texas politics since 1989. As writer, editor and publisher of the Quorum Report, Kronberg’s expertise has been cited in publications as diverse as Congressional Quarterly, the Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle. The Quorum Report, a non-partisan newsletter that covers state politics and government, has been named the Number One Online Political Newsletter in the Country by Campaigns and Elections Magazine, and the Best Source for Texas Political Information by the Houston Press. A noted figure in and around the Texas Capitol, Former Lt. Governor Bob Bullock labeled Kronberg as “The Capitol's most astute observer.”