This blog is dedicated to the principle that the role of an academic & pundit - what Ernest Boyer terms "public intellectuals" - should be to afflict the well borne and powerful and to advocate for and comfort those of lesser places in the social order.
The RAD blog aspires to be in the tradition of such iconoclastic figures in US history from H.L. Menken - "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong" and I.F. Stone - "All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out."
The RAD blog is also guided by the assumption that readers of blogs have a longer attention spans than a nanno second. This blog is an editorial page blog not a text message blog like most you see online. The author doesn't believe that we all suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADD).
One of RAD's former students, a proud and articulate neo-con, inaugurated this website in the spring of 2005 to honor his lefty mentor. Some might say be careful what you wish for, you might get it. But being the well mannered fellow he is, D-man had this to say about moi:
"Retiring from the Political Science Department of Pacific University in 2005, Russ Dondero is considered an expert on Oregon and Northwest politics as well as the Presidency and Congress. With a superb network of political contacts in Oregon and in Washington, D.C., Russ is a master arranger of internships and practical campaign experience for majors.
Professor Dondero is the creator and guiding light of the Tom McCall Forum, which brings to campus pairs of prominent liberals and conservatives for a nationally recognized annual debate. He is a frequent commentator on Oregon politics for both local and national media."
Tom McCall Forum
2007: Lee Hamilton & John Bolton
2006: Tom Daschle & Pat Buchanan
2005: Howard Dean & Richard Perle
2004: Molly Ivins & William Kristol
2003: Bill Bradley & David Gergen
2002: Newt Gingrich & Ralph Nader
2001: Alan Dershowitz & Ralph Reed
2000: Mary Matalin & James Carville
1999: C. Everett Koop & Joseph Califano
1998: Haley Barbour & Leon Panetta
1997: Dan Quayle and Robert Kennedy, Jr.
1996: Mario Cuomo and Lynn Martin
1995: James Carville & William Safire
1994: Pierre Salinger & John Sununu
1992: Jesse Jackson & Peter Ueberroth
1991: Geraldine Ferraro & William Bennett
1990: Carl Bernstein & Michael Deaver
1989: Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. & Robert Bork
1988: Pat Schroeder & Jeane Kirkpatrick
1987: Robert McNamara & Zbigniew Brzezinski
1986: Andrew Young & Arthur Laffer
1985: George McGovern & James Watt
1984: William F. Buckley, Jr. & Dick Clark
1983: Mulford Q. Sibley, Howard Phillips & Admiral Noel Gayler
1982: Cal Thomas & Sam Brown
RAD earned his B.A. from Whitman College (1964) and M.A. (1969), Ph.D. (1973) from the University of Minnesota. At Whitman Russ focused on American politics under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Y. Fluno. At the University of Minnesota Russ studied political philosophy under the mentorship of Dr. Mulford Q. Sibley. But as one looks back on a 39 plus year career, my true mentor in things political was my father, Charles A. Dondero. Thanks, Dad.
RAD continues to teach part-time as an adjunct professor at PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government in political science and public administration programs; and as a workshop presenter for the School of Occupational Therapy at Pacific University. He has been an active citizen advocate for low income housing since 1991.
When not blogging, teaching or lobbying, RAD can be found on the golf course.1 When the rains come RAD will be in the train room running his S-gauge model train empire. RAD is a Tiger Wood's fanatic; a UW Husky true believer and a Seattle Mariners fan. As RFK once said "politics is a sport played by adults" so RAD is never far from the field of dreams on the course, in the stands, in the train room or in the spin zone!
1Hole in One, Ghost Creek, Pumpkin Ridge GC, #11 July 27, 2007
More on RAD:
- B.A. 1964 - Whitman College (Major: Political Science)
- M.A. 1968 - University of Minnesota (Major: Political Science)
- PH.D. 1973 - University of Minnesota (Major: Political Science)
Teaching Career:
- Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA: Assistant Professor 1969-74
- Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR: Assistant to Full Professor, 1974-2005
- Portland State University, Portland, OR: Adjunct Professor, 2005-present
Honors/Awards
- Recipient in 1996 of the Honor of Merit award for his founding and leadership of the annual Tom McCall Forum, now in it’s 24th year
- Honored in May 2002 by an anonymous alumi donor for contribution to Pacific University establishing - “The Story-Dondero Chair for the Study of Politics & the Economy”
- Honored in February of 2005 by Pacific political science alums with the founding of the "Dondero Scholarship" fund for internship support
- Honored with rank of Professor Emeritus of Politics & Government by Pacific University, Commencement 2005
- Honored on November 7, 2007 upon his retirement as founder/coordinator of the Tom McCall Forum
Fields of Teaching:
- Parties & Elections
- State & Local Politics
- Politics & the Media
- The US Congress
- The Presidency
- Politics of Education
- Politics of Health Care
- Political Philosophy
- Mentor to 50 plus student interns (at Dickinson, Pacific & PSU) leading to successful careers in public service;
Administrative responsibilities:
- Founder/Coordinator, annual Tom McCall Forum - 1981 to present
- Project Director, $450,000 per Hewlett Grants 1998-2004, phase I and II
Past Service (partial list):
- Served as Chair, Department of Politics & Government 1980-1998, 2001-2002;
- Chair, Division of Social Sciences (1994-97);
- Chair of the Campus Governance Council (predecessor to University Council;
- Chair of Arts & Sciences Faculty;
- Member of the University Council, the Judicial Council, the Standards & Advising Committee, the Admissions Committee.
Scholarly & Related Activities:
- Member Pacific Northwest Political Science Association since 1974,
- President PNWPSA 2003-2004;
- Occasional participant in regional and national political science professional meetings including the APSA and WPSA
- Frequently interviewed and quoted by TV, broadcast and print media in Oregon and beyond relative to Oregon politics… writes occasional OP ED articles for the Oregonian, Oregon’s daily newspapers
Books/Monographs/Studies:
- 2001: A co-author of 2 chapters on the media and interest groups in a book about Oregon politics published by the University of Nebraska Press (2005) - book jacket below
- 1999: Contributor to Outside Money: Soft Money & Issue Ads in Competitive 1998 Congressional Elections, A Report of a Grant Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, edited by David Magelby, BYU – the basis for a major text on this subject
- 1999: Consultant project/analysis on neighborhood sustainability in Racine, Wisconsin and San Diego, California for McKeever/Morris
- 1983: City Commissioner Margaret Strachan's Office, Portland, OR. Produced Report Analyzing Staff Relationships In Commissioner’s Office
- 1980: Staff Writer of Community Correction Task Force Report, Washington County, Oregon
- 1976: Office of Neil Goldschmidt, Mayor of Portland, OR. Produced Report On Community Participation For Mayor & Staff
Faculty Internships, Consultantships & Related Experiences:
- 1976 - Office of Neil Goldschmidt, Mayor of Portland, OR.
- 1979 - KBOO-FM, Community Radio, Portland, OR.
- 1983 - Sabbatical - City Commissioner Margaret Strachan's Office, Portland, OR.
- 1984 - Staff Writer, Washington County Justice Task Force Report
- 1991 - Sabbatical - Low Income Housing Lobbyist, Member of the Housing Lobby Coalition
- 1993 - Chair, Housing Task Force, Washington County
- 1994 - Chair, Citizen Participation Task Force, Washington County
- 1999 - 2008 - Washington County Housing Authority Advisory Council,
- 1999 - Sabbatical - consultant with McKeever/Morris
- 2007 - 2008 - Leadership Group of Washington County's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness
- 2006 - present - Washington County's Interfaith Committee on Homelessness, IFCH
- 2009 - present - Washington County Homeless Plan Advisory Committee, HPAC
- 2009 - present - VAN Economic Security Steering Committee, ESSC
The definitve book on Oregon politics:











