Second Assignment, Fall 2014

Pick one of the following:

1. Write a Saturday radio address for President Obama.  (You may find past addresses here.)  The address itself should take two pages.   Then write a two-page essay explaining what you are trying to do in the address.  What message are you sending to what audience for what intended effect?

2. Look at various schemes for rating presidents (e.g., Pika 152-153). Identify a president about whom at least two of the ratings disagree strongly. Explain why this president’s performance gets such divergent grades. That is, what did this president do to trigger such different reactions from different raters?

3. As we have discussed in class, voters tend to pay much more attention to economics than to foreign policy and national security.  But the latter can have some impact on elections.  Identify a specific specific event in foreign policy and national security that purportedly affected a presidential election (e.g., the 10/31/68 announcement of a bombing halt in Vietnam).  Evaluate the claims about its effect.

4.  Write an essay on any relevant topic of your choice, subject to my approval.

• Whichever essay you choose, do research to document your claims. Do not write from the top of your head. 
• Essays should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than four pages long. I will not read past the fourth page. 
• Cite your sources with endnotes, which should be in a standard style (e.g., Turabian or Chicago Manual of Style). Endnote pages do not count against the page limit. 
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. 
• Turn in essays to the class Sakai dropbox by 11:59 PM, Wednesday, October 29. Late essays will drop a gradepoint for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that. I will grant no extensions except for illness or emergency.