Professor, Pundit, and Political Scientist Dr. Larry Sabato, Jr. To Speak at the GBTA 2012 Masters Program

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) - the voice of the global business travel industry - today announced that distinguished political scientist and analyst Dr. Larry Sabato Jr. will be featured as a speaker at the 2012 GBTA Masters Program at the Mandarin Hotel in Washington, D.C., February 6-7, 2012. Professor of Politics and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and founder of Sabato's Crystal Ball, Dr. Sabato is widely known as the most accurate prognosticator in recent elections.

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Dr. Sabato provides expert knowledge for the upcoming 2012 election year, preparing listeners for the changing of the guard in Washington and across the nation. He bridges the gap between the rhetoric and the reality, showing audiences how the art of politics and the science of the American voting psyche come together to produce our nation's next batch of leaders. With bold but nuanced observations, Dr. Sabato speaks to the core of American politics and to the essence of the nation at every sociopolitical stage.

"Dr. Sabato has an uncanny sense of what is yet to come in the political landscape and from his insight attendees will gain perspective on how influential leaders build a base of support and change the course of the future," said Michael W. McCormick, executive director and COO, GBTA. "The Masters Program showcases the most respected leaders and Larry Sabato will provide unique insights as to how those leaders get elected."

In July 2008, Dr. Sabato correctly projected that Barack Obama would win the presidency in a near-landslide. He predicted a 364-174 margin in the Electoral College, just one vote away from the final tally of 365-173, as well as the correct 53 percent popular vote margin. He also accurately predicted 98 percent of Senate, House, and governor winners in 2006, 2008 and 2010 – by far one of the best track records in the business. He is the author of 24 books and countless essays on politics, including the well known Feeding Frenzy, A More Perfect Constitution and The Year of Obama. His latest book, Pendulum Swing, discusses the 2010 midterm elections.

Dr. Sabato is a Rhodes Scholar and Danforth Fellow, who has received every major teaching award at the University of Virginia (UVA). In 2001, he was named the Thomas Jefferson Award winner, UVA's highest honor. He has also served on many national and state commissions, including the National Commission for the Renewal of American Democracy and the Senate Campaign Finance Reform Panel. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship and several teaching awards, and he has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, Oxford University and Cambridge University.

The GBTA Masters Program is an annual event that provides executive-level attendees with the opportunity to hear from some of the most respected world class leaders while learning about the strategies and business philosophies that have made them and their organizations successful. To register to attend the Masters Program, visit gbta.org/masters. 

About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings organization. Collectively, GBTA's 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA provides its network of 17,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy.  For more information, visit gbta.org.

SOURCE Global Business Travel Association