Discussion on 1/4

On 1/4 we'll be discussing the candidates' foreign policy statements from Foreign Affairs. Below is my first draft at the questions we'll be discussing. Please post or email (mereaby@gmail.com) to me any additional questions or comments on the questions so we can have a high quality discussion! Thanks. M

Foreign policy and the 2008 election
AP US Government

1. What do you think should be the foreign policy priorities for the next president? What tenor or tone do you think the next president should have with other countries and international organizations? Which candidate best meets your foreign policy vision? To what degree do you believe that the candidates can fully articulate their foreign policy vision on the campaign trail?

2. What are the candidates’ positions on Africa and Latin America? Do you support their positions? Do you think these continents are receiving enough attention from the candidates in their statements? What do you think should be the foreign policy priorities for the president in Latin America and Africa for the next presidential administration?

3. What are the candidates’ positions on how the U.S. should proceed in Iraq? If they think we should leave, what specifics do they give for how we should do that? If they think we should stay, what specifics do they give for how we can “win” the war on Iraq? What is your opinion on their positions and why? Do you think the candidates spent too much time or too little focusing on Iraq in their statements?

4. What are the candidates’ positions on how the U.S. should relate to Iran? To what degree do they see Iran as an enemy? Do you believe that Iran is a serious enemy of the U.S.? Do you think the next president should use “carrots” or “sticks” when dealing with Iran and why?

5. How do the candidates’ describe the Bush administration’s foreign policy? What are their criticisms or compliments for how Bush has conducted our foreign policy? To what degree do the candidates think we should be more multilateral? What type of tone or communication do they want the president to have with the American and international community on foreign policy?

6. What do you think should be the foreign policy priorities for the next president? What tenor or tone do you think the next president should have with other countries and international organizations? Which candidate best meets your foreign policy vision?

1/2/2008

Start your year off with a new post! :)

Read through your classmates' posts. Pick someone to respond to that you have not responded to either term 1 or 2. Try not respond to someone's post if they already have more than 1 response. Please attack the ideas/argument of the person & not the person her/himself. Also, please respond in a manner which fosters rather than shuts down dialogue. Lastly, it is important to respond to people's posts in a way that fosters dialogue & is respectful. Good luck. And happy new year!

Post by 12/20

I had this on the schedule as being due on 12/18, but if you need until the 20th it won't be counted late.

The environmental debate used to be a fringe issue that only minor parties like the Green Party took seriously. However, in this presidential election it will be an issue that both major parties have to take seriously.

What environmental issue do you think is most important for the 2008 presidential election? Why? What policy position do you support on this issue? Is there a candidate or candidates that support your position? If so, what’s their stance? If no one supports your position, why do you think they don’t share your position?

Use news articles and research to build your case. I would particularly recommend going to interest group and think tank websites for research for this assignment. I would also recommend looking at the second half of Edwards’ ch 19 for background and terminology for this discussion.

If you are having trouble finding research please see me for help. Good luck!

Response post

My apologies for not creating the area for a response post on time. If you haven't already posted your healthcare response, please do it here. Thanks!

The importance of posting on time...

I cannot stress enough the importance of posting on time. If you post late, it becomes less likely that anyone will respond to you. If you post late, less people will read what you write. It will be a less enjoyable activity for you if you don't have an audience because you're posting after folks are done reading the blog. Lastly, if you post late I will not give you full credit for this activity. I want to remind you that the blog activity & your courts paper = 10% of your grade in this class. It is worth your time to do this activity well. Additionally, your classmates want to read what you write and I want to read responses to your work.

Except in dire situations, I expect you to post on time or early. Please plan ahead.

Thank you. M. Aby

12/3 post 6 is due

Post 6: Healthcare:
The number 2 polling issue in the election is healthcare. In order to better understand the debate concerning healthcare we’re going to explore this area of national policy and the issue of federalism.

**To what degree is it the national or state government’s responsibility to make sure that their citizens/residents have healthcare? Who is better suited to deal with our healthcare crisis: private industry, state governments, or the national government? Why? What solution do you favor?

Use news articles and research to build your case. I would particularly recommend going to interest group and think tank websites for research for this assignment. I would also recommend looking at the first half of Edwards’ ch 19 for background and terminology for this discussion.

If you are having trouble finding research please see me for help. Good luck!

11/27 response to post 5 is due

Read through your classmates' posts. Pick a post to respond to that you do not agree with. Read their candidates' statement. Write a post that critiques both the candidate & your classmate's post. Please quote from the candidate & your classmate directly so we can know what you are referring to.

Remember the goal is for everyone to get a response. Please do not respond to someone's post if they already have more than 1 response. Please attack the ideas/argument of the person & not the person her/himself. Also, please respond in a manner which fosters rather than shuts down dialogue. Lastly, it is important to respond to people's posts in a way that fosters dialogue & is respectful. Good luck.

11/15 post 5 is due

Foreign policy for the next president
Foreign Affairs magazine has asked the candidates to write personal statements of what they believe should be the US' priorities for foreign policy & what their administration would do concerning these areas. The links to their statements are on this page in the lower right hand corner on the sidebar.

Pick one of the candidate's statements to read. It could be one you support, one you don't support, or one you have questions about. It's your decision.

Write a post that critiques the candidate's position. Explain why you support or don't support the candidate's viewpoints. Cover at least three of their foreign policy positions.

11/2 - Last step in our project

By Friday 11/2 please print off for me what you perceive to be your best post and best response in our blog activity this quarter. Use the rubric I gave you at the beginning of the quarter to help you choose which posts to pick. Please label your assignment with your name, period, and which post your writing is for (Post 1 or Response to Post 2 for example). Thanks.

Last response post - due 10/30

Please respond to a peer by 10/30. This will be your last post of the quarter. Thanks for doing such an amazing job. I am really enjoying reading your posts. - M. Aby

Post 4 - Due 10/23

Chapters 6 & 10 in Edwards address the views of different groups within the electorate. Both major political parties are examining who voted for their party in 2004, and who did not vote for their party in 2004. With that information they are strategizing how to convince groups who did not vote for them to switch sides and how they can they keep groups who did vote for them in 2004.

Both parties in this election are particularly looking at the role of Latino voters.
*Do you think that the majority of Latino voters will vote Democrat or Republican in the 2008 election? Why?
*What do you think the Democrat party should do to attract Latino voters?
*What do you think the Republican party should do to attract Latino voters?

There are a lot of quality news articles on this very debate. I will help you find them if you need my help. Otherwise, I’m going to set you loose on your own.

Reponse to Post 3 - Due 10/16

You can respond to post 3 on the post 3 strand or here. Either is fine. Your response post is due 10/16. Remember the goal is for everyone to get a response. Please do not respond to someone's post if they already have more than 1 response. Please attack the ideas/argument of the person & not the person her/himself. Also, please respond in a manner which fosters rather than shuts down dialogue. Thanks. Good luck. M. Aby

Great commentaries!

I really see our conversation about the election becoming more complicated & richer in post 3! I really enjoy how you are building on your previous posts. I also am enjoying how folks are incorporating quotes from other scholars as supporting evidence. If you want to see examples of how folks do this well look at John & Chelsey's posts this week. In addition, you are improving greatly in your ability to form arguments and to analyze the evidence you use in your posts. For an example of this type of writing you can look at Molly's post. (Note, I do not pick out some people's posts to highlight some and ignore others, but to try to convey where I believe yours should be headed.)

Last Thursday I had great conversations with your parents at conferences about your blog postings. Just to let you know y'all are developing quite a following! Parents in our community really enjoy reading what you have to say. And I can see why. You are a talented group of commentators. Keep it up! M. Aby

Post 3 - Due 10/9

This year’s presidential race is unusual. We have a white woman & an African American man in the lead for the Democratic nomination. We have a Mormon & several non-Evangelicals competing for the Republican nomination. This will be an election that is analyzed for years to come.

One issue several of you brought up in your last post is the question, “Is Senator Obama the most attractive candidate for the African American community?” The Democratic party & the African American community are very closely tied together. Many political analysts predict that the candidate that picks up the “black vote” will get the nomination for the Democratic party.

Below are some recent articles that summarize the role of previous African American candidates for the Democratic nomination (Jesse Jackson & Rev. Al Sharpton), the popularity of both Clinton & Obama with the African American community, & the potential barriers to winning over the “black vote”. You are not limited to these articles. I am merely referring you to them because I think they might be helpful for this week’s post.

* “Barack Obama caught between lines in race battle”, The Times, 9/23/07
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2511582.ece
* “Out of Reach?”, 9/27/08, Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1666262,00.html
* “Obama Vies for Black Vote While Waging `Deracialized Campaign'”, 9/28/07. Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZeD5OiaQqdU&refer=home
* “Clinton Edges Obama in Black Caucus”, 9/28/07, Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hOj-hz5ahyzXOAIRsfaUOyr1Ns8gD8RUNE780
* “Obama: Jena case shows law's 'inequities'”, 9/29/07, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obamaweb29,1,5304044.story

Your question is:
To what degree does a candidate need to represent their community (as a woman, a member of their racial group, a member of their religion, etc.)? What are the strengths & weaknesses to being seen as a representative of a community? Is it better to be seen as an “individual”? Considering our country’s history, is it possible to be seen as merely an individual if someone is going to be the first woman, African-American, Mormon, etc. ever elected to the office of president of the United States? How do you think the campaign(s) should address this dynamic in the race to help their candidate? (Consider the current political realities addressed in the articles & facing our country today.)

(P.S. to the Republicans in the class, the next post will focus more on your party’s issues for the election. I promise.)

Who you support based on post 2

1st place: Barack Obama
2nd place: Hillary Clinton/ John Edwards
3rd place: Dennis Kucinich
4th place: Ron Paul
5th place: Rudy Giuliani
6th place: Mitt Romney
7th place: Mike Huckabee/John McCain/ Joe Biden

Most disliked: Mike Huckabee, then Sam Brownback

Thanks to Amy Anderson for totaling these for me. :)

Notes on grammar/ writing style

Don't capitalize the office, just the person. For example:
the president, President Bush

Do capitalize specific places because they're proper nouns. For example: Congress, Supreme Court, White House

Do capitalize specifice political parties (the Republican party, the Green party, etc.)even though you wouldn't normally capitalize the words if they aren't in reference to a party (ie. The man in the green shirt expressed republican values.) :)

Lastly, it is considered un-academic & unprofessional to call a public figure by her/his first name. You should refer to a public figure by their last name.

Response to post 2 - due October 2nd

You can post to either post 2 on the post 2 strand or here. Either is fine. Your response post is due 10/2. Remember the goal is for everyone to get a response. Please do not respond to someone's post if they already have more than 1 response. Please attack the ideas/argument of the person & not the person her/himself. Also, please respond in a manner which fosters rather than shuts down dialogue. Thanks. Good luck. M. Aby

Post 2 - Due 9/26

Who do you support for president? Why? Give concrete reasons and refer to news articles &/or their website to substantiate your posts. Include the link to the references you cite in your post so that others can retrace your steps.

If you don't support anyone for president, then answer:
Which of the candidates would you most oppose as the next president? Why? Give concrete reasons and refer to news articles &/or their website to substantiate your posts. Include the link to the references you cite in your post so that others can retrace your steps.

My observation from post 1

First off, I think things are going well. I'm impressed with the quality of your posts and with your discussion with each other. Comments I have on your posts:

* Research: Most of you did a good job doing research on the issue you choose to focus on. Most of you included links to the articles you read in your posts. However, few of you integrated this information into your posts to substantiate your argument. I don't want you just tack on the article links at the end.

For examples as to how to integrate your evidence into your post you could look at Silas and Michelle R.'s posts as examples of how you could integrate your evidence into your argument.

*Your response posts: You are doing a good job of responding to other people's arguments. Some of you are using research to substantiate your arguments, but most of you are not. I want to encourage you to try to use research to do so.

* Your viewpoints: I wasn't surprised that most of you thought that the war is the #1 issue. Most Americans feel the same way as you. Nationally healthcare polls as #2 & issues like immigation poll that high in certain states. Global warming is climbing the list - due in part to recent scientific information & efforts by Al Gore. In every election there will be single issue voters, and I'm glad that one of the top issues of single issue voters (abortion) was represented in our discussion as well. I am glad that some of you played devils advocate to diversify the discussion. :)

I look forward to your second post. Thanks.

Response to post 1 - due 9/18

You can post to either post 1 on the post 1 strand or here. Either is fine. Your response post is due 9/18. Remember the goal is for everyone to get a response. Please do not respond to someone's post if they already have more than 1 response. Please attack the ideas/argument of the person & not the person her/himself. Also, please respond in a manner which fosters rather than shuts down dialogue. Thanks. Good luck. M. Aby

PS. I will post soon a response to your post 1.

Post 1 - Due 9/12

What is the most important issue in the 2008 election? Why is this issue the most important issue (ie. the one that should be driving the campaign)? What position on this issue would you support & why?

Instructions for posting

The instructor will post a general question relating to the election every 2 weeks. Students need to post once every 2 weeks and need to respond to another student's post once every two weeks. (Therefore 4 original posts in our 9 week term and 4 response posts.) Posts need to be intelligent and in depth. They should be spell checked and proof read. Students should consider this as publishing their opinions. Students need to stand behind what they say and will be held responsible for what they post. Posts should not attack individual posters and should not use language that would not be appropriate in a classroom discussion. Student who do not post responsibly will have their posting rights taken away by the moderator (the teacher).

getting your news

Just an FYI, on itunes you can download for free podcasts from the candidates. I found podcasts from Clinton, Obama & Paul. Also there are a lot of election focused shows that you can download on CNN, NPR, etc. So if you aren't someone who likes to read or if you're a student who is glued to your ipod... you can keep up with this election! Enjoy!