The Smithsonian Associates Presents Chris Matthews

The Smithsonian Associates presents an evening with Chris Matthews Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in Baird Auditorium at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Matthews discusses how the affection between House Speaker Tip O’Neill and President Ronald Reagan transcended politics and how they worked together to govern the nation.

Before he was a high-profile TV pundit, Matthews saw history close up at the elbow of O’Neill. As an aide to the House Speaker, Matthews had a front-row seat as one veteran Irish pol forged an unlikely working relationship with another, Reagan, his polar opposite. O’Neill, the Washington insider, built a strong connection with the conservative former California governor, a Washington outsider. Today, when politics in Washington is often toxic, Matthews shows how common purpose—and a little Irish charm—helped these two powerful figures avoid gridlock and deliver on a range of issues, including welfare, taxes, covert military operations and Social Security.

Ticket prices for the Smithsonian Associates’ presentation are $42 for general admission and $30 for members. For tickets and information, the public may call (202) 633-3030 or visit www.smithsonianassociates.org. Matthew’s book, Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked (Simon and Schuster) is available for signing after the program.

The Smithsonian Associates—the largest museum-based education program in the world—produces vibrant educational and cultural programming inspired by the Smithsonian’s research, collections and exhibitions. Each year more than 750 individual programs are presented to spark creativity and excite learning in people of all ages in the Washington, D.C., area and across the country. The Smithsonian Associates, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2015, brings the Smithsonian to life through seminars, performances, lectures, studio arts classes and local and regional study tours, as well as many engaging programs for children, including performances, museum sleepovers and summer day camps.

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