The 2008 election of Barack Obama was a watershed moment not only in terms of racial politics but also in light of the considerable expectations of a Democratic president following eight years of a Republican administration.

On December 16, 2009, forty Next Generation Fellows gathered at the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C. to evaluate the year that had just passed:  “Obama – One Year Later.” The Assembly was co-sponsored by The American Assembly, The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and the Meridian International Center (MIC), and it was the first meeting in the second phase of The Next Generation Project.

Discussions included a panel, moderated by John Nagl, president of CNAS with Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs, Department of State; Janine Davidson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans; and Erik Leklem, Senior Strategy Advisor, Department of State, participating. Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces, addressed the fellows at a luncheon plenary session.