Senior Dominic McGinnis was among a group of about 90 people, including juniors and seniors from Mr. Jay Combe‘s civics classes, faculty, and staff, who took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions of a special guest, political commentator and media personality James Carville, on Nov. 16, 2015.

The atmosphere was as casual as the speaker’s vernacular. Fielding questions ranging from his career to public policies to the presidential campaign, Carville answered with pertinent stories, opinions, and philosophies. But, he told the audience, “It doesn’t matter what I think, it matters that you think.”

Carville is a NYT best-selling author, Gambit’s 2012 New Orleanian of the Year, and the architect of the Clinton presidential campaign in 1992. In the week prior to Carville’s visit, Combe’s civics students watched “The War Room,” the Academy Award-nominated documentary about the campaign in which Carville “starred.” Combe, seen in the background of the photo at right, is clearly pleased with the interaction of Carville and the students.