Welcome back. It was an eventful break. We saw oil finally finish its inexorable climb toward $100 a barrel, HBS students scrambling to avoid the violence in Kenya, and the historic assassination of former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto.
America has also been captivated by a Presidential election pregnant with energy. A Harvard MBA has submitted his sterling record of achievement to the American people and Barrack Obama’s Iowa victory animated a national moment that was both cathartic and historic. Then there was a determined comeback win for Hillary Clinton, the ascendancy of a smooth talking Governor from Hope, Arkansas (again), and John McCain’s surge to the lead in New Hampshire. There is also another Harvard MBA, with deep pockets and shallow party affiliations, looming in the wings.
In this heated campaign season, we at the Harbus are happy to be a forum for the exchange of ideas on candidates and policy. We know that many students have thought deeply about these issues and that many of you will soon loom in the wings yourself. Let’s have a conversation.
All of this serves as a reminder that we are inheriting a dynamic and teetering world; a world in which Harvard MBAs have served in many roles, often critical ones. For now, we are together again, in splendid reprieve from these challenges. As the ECs are learning, our time here is deceptively halcyonic and fleeting.
Lets enjoy it!
David Rawlinson
