Former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency administrator spoke to a full audience at a roundtable dinner at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Tuesday night.

Faculty and students alike packed the Sandy Bell Gallery to hear Christine Todd Whitman speak about her experiences in the increasingly partisan political world.

“She is trying to keep at a minimum, the damage that has been done by partisan politics,” OU President David L. Boren said in his introduction of Whitman.

A proud moderate Republican, Whitman has spent much of her career riding the uneven wave known as the middle. The middle is often thought of as a dangerous place to be for a politician. Often, centrist politicians will come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans. However, Whitman said she thinks there is no better time to be a moderate as evidenced by November’s landmark elections.

“This election cycle was one of the first times in recent memory when the American people stood up and said ‘enough,’” Whitman said. “The American people understand you can’t solve problems when you can’t discuss, and you can’t discuss while you are yelling.”

Whitman then referred to many of the Republican incumbents who lost races to relative unknowns, despite exit polling that showed the constituency was happy with the job the incumbent had done. Whitman said she believed this was due to the tremendous number of disillusioned voters who feel disconnected with their government.

“They didn’t vote for Democrats, they voted against what was happening in Washington,” Whitman said. “They didn’t want to give one more vote to a Republican Congress.”

However, she said she remains optimistic about the impact that the elections will have on her party and hopes that it will serve as a wake-up call to those that believe a voter is won or lost based on a single issue.

The dinner was followed by a question and answer session in which Whitman fielded questions on a variety of topics, ranging from her involvement in the EPA to the potential for moderate Republicans at the grassroots level.

Whitman said she believes there are a number of Americans who firmly stand in the middle of the political spectrum, but they have yet to speak up. She said the path into the hearts and minds of disenfranchised citizens is to establish a strong grassroots presence.

The only way to make significant change on the national stage is to rethink how politics is run locally, Whitman said.

“The decisions that most affect our daily lives are the ones made at the local level,” Whitman said.

With these thoughts in mind, Whitman’s political action committee “It’s My Party Too” has taken to college campuses, attempting to get student feedback on various political issues, as well as recruiting those who show a desire to become more involved in their political world.

Whitman said it is this generation of political leaders that will be the determining factor in the direction our country moves.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” Whitman said. “It takes our participation every day.”

Eric Kerbs, University College freshman, said that despite not agreeing entirely with Whitman’s politics, she seemed to understand the apathy many are feeling toward their government.

“I thought the way she spoke was amazing,” Kerbs said. “I am not a Republican, but she really captured the way America is feeling about politics.”