Reponse to post #2

I enjoyed watching the ads and reading what you thought of them! I hope you'll look at the ads that each other watched. I look forward to reading your response posts. Please post them here so that we can separate them out. Please try to respond to a person that you didn't respond to last time so you can interact with a new student! When you refer to information you have read or to commercials you watched please cite your work. Thanks.

Post #2

McCain and Obama are neck and neck in the polls. Their campaigns have less than two months left to persuade potential voters. This is the point in the campaign where money is key. Whoever has the most money can make and air the most TV commercials. However, this is not just the situation for the presidential campaigns. Interest groups and the parties also want their chosen candidate to win and use money and commercials to try to tip the scales in their favor.

Campaign finance laws have created a loophole where 527 groups can make independent expenditure ads. If you’re interested in seeing some examples of their ads you can check out National Public Radio’s coverage. They have links to some of their ads:
* Independent Political Groups Return With 527 Ads

* Liberal 527 Groups Target McCain With Ads

Find out how the candidates are doing fundraising. Watch some of the campaign advertisements. You can watch the candidates’ ads &/or the 527 ads. To find the candidates’ ads go to their websites &/or search on google for McCain/Obama ads. There are plenty on YouTube. And then answer the following questions:

What role do you think advertisements have in political campaigns?
What types of political advertisements do you find persuasive and why?
Are there ads that are being run that you think are unethical and if so why?
Do you think that the parties’ and the 527 ads are helping or hurting the ability for the American people to make an informed decision in November?

Be sure to cite where your information is from in your post. I look forward to reading what you’ll write.

My thoughts on post 1

Overall I think y'all did a great job on the first post. You used research (some of you found your own) to make intelligent arguments about the election which was our number one objective.

The main theme I saw was that many of you were informed writers but didn't credit where your information was from. Please refer to where that information is from so that your classmates and I can tell what is influencing your perspective. For examples of people's writing who did a great job of doing this (there were many) I would like to highlight a couple writers - ASampson, Katie B, and Lauren the wise.

Other themes I saw to a lesser extent included discussing the election but not addressing both questions, and not enough proofreading. Please address those issues if I wrote you a note about them in your next post.

Thanks and I look forward to reading your responses to each other. M. Aby

Response to post 1 - Due Wed, Sept 17th

Great job getting your first post up and starting our online discussion. Now read through your classmates' responses. Pick one classmate to respond to. Explain why you agree or disagree with their assessment of McCain or Obama's campaign. When you refer to information you have read please cite your work.

Please post your response here so we can keep the original posts and the response posts separate and more manageable.

Take care and good luck! M. Aby

Post 1- 2008

Examine the poll reports on the candidates in the articles I gave you. You can also check out pollingreport.com.

What sectors in society are Obama & McCain doing well & poorly with? What suggestions do you have to the campaigns for how they could increase their popularity this fall for the general election? (You can discuss one or both for this section.) Be sure to site where your information is from & to back up your projections & advice.

Good luck and enjoy the blog!

Last post - Due January 9th

The very anticipated official beginning of the presidential campaign is upon us. January 3rd Iowans will caucus for their presidential hopefulls and January 8th New Hampshirites will vote for their choices in their primary.

What will be the impact of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary? How will they help or hurt the candidates running for president? Will other states (like Florida, North Carolina, and Super Tuesday) play a greater role?

It will be hard but also fun to predict the impact of these two important - yet early - events. Places that might be particularly helpful to you are the Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe. They have very indepth reporting and analysis on these early events which you might find helpful in your research.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
ttp://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/

Thank you for your insightful posts this semester. You are the first group of students I have ever done this type of project with and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for being such great guinea pigs!

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?