CMC Presidency Course

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Presidents and the Media

For Monday, read Edwards ch. 8.

For writeups, apply what you have learned in the past 2 weeks to war news. How is the administration trying to gain support for the action in Iran?

Questions on the assignment?

Theodore Roosevelt wore this ring featuring strands of Abraham Lincoln’s hair while being sworn in at his inauguration of tomorrow 1905. T.R. used to say that he would ask himself, “What would Lincoln do? pic.twitter.com/lr3BQikpvK
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) March 3, 2026

Photographs good and bad (Edwards 169-171)

The in-party national committee and outside spending groups.

The presidency online

Presidents and the Press

Contentious from the start (Edwards 189)
Did TV tip the scales to the president?

Staff

Press Secretary
Office of Communications
Office of Public Liaison (3-cushion billiards)

Direct transmission: Full coverage of speeches and press conferences

Press Conferences from the first term (195-196) did not always work to the advantage of POTUS

In private, however, Trump was different:

WH COVID coordinator Dr. Birx reacts to the bleach comments

Mediated transmission

Leaks

Intentional leaks (trial balloons)
Internal sniping
Accidents: Full text

Backgrounders
Working the refs

Things that can go wrong.

Talking to the media:

"On the Record," "Off the Record," "Background"
Do not assume that the other person uses these terms the same way.
In an internship or entry-level job, NEVER talk to the media without specific authorization from your boss.

Reflections on pre-Trump press relations.

19:00, 40:00, 50:00

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Leading the Public

For Wednesday, Edwards, ch. 7.

Questions on assignment?

Iran

Iran attack, politics, CNN poll and war powers
Problem with writing about Iran is that the situation is changing quickly.

Wag the Dog. Called it!

State of the Union Nielsen ratings (% of TV households watching)

Problems facing a president (Edwards 154-157):

Multiple cable alternatives
Cutting the cord in favor of streaming
Preaching to the converted. The biggest share viewed it on Fox.

Speeches directly to the TV audience (Edwards, pp. 159).

Why do presidents make such speeches?

Modes of persuasion

Logos
Pathos
Ethos

Bush 1991 on Desert Storm:

Note similarities & differences with Trump 2026 on Epic Fury:

Message from President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/Xhk3ibylSQ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 1, 2026

Framing (Edwards 162-166).

What does the term mean?
The war metaphor: examples? Why>
Labeling proposals and the framing war

Cambodia "incursion" v. invasion
Economic Recovery Act v. "trickle-down"
Affordable Care Act v. Obamacare
One Big Beautiful Bill v. tax cut for the Wealty

Modes of communication

Events

Why? Local media, coverage on national media
Logistical challenges are formidable

Photographs good and bad (Edwards 169-171)

The in-party national committee and outside spending groups.

The presidency online

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Speech, Speech!

For next time, Edwards ch. 6

For writeup: what presidential event from 2025 sticks in your mind? Why?

QUESTIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENT?

STATE OF THE UNION REACTION?

Presidents gave relatively few speeches in the 18th and 19th centuries. Washington delivered his Farewell Address in writing.

Norms were different.

Households with Radio Sets:

1922	60,000
1927	6,750,000
1932	18,450,000
1937	24,500,000
1942	30,600,000

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States, 796.

FDR and the radio: Day of Infamy (skip to 4:05).

.....

"A speech is a fondue pot." -- Peggy Noonan, p. 72

On March 8, 1983, President Reagan spoke to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, He expressed his views on the Soviet Union, famously calling it an "evil empire." He defended the Judeo-Christian traditions against the Soviet Union's totalitarian leadership and lack of religious faith, saying that these differences were at the heart of the conflict between the two nations.

Click here to see the typescript of the speech.

This document makes clear that Reagan did not simply read the words before him: he played a very active part in writing the speech itself. One amusing sidelight: speechwriter Tony Dolan included a spurious quotation from Alexis deTocqueville -- which Reagan changed:

Here is the official text.

And here is video:

Reagan, religion, and the spurious Tocqueville line.

And of course, the "evil empire."

Trends and Events

Bread and butter/War and peace
Rally events (Edwards 144-146)
Disasters and scandals

Bush 41

Clinton

Obama

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Opinion and the Presidency

For Wednesday,

Assignment?
Reagan, 1983 "Evil Empire" speech in Orlando: both the manuscript (see link here) and the video/transcript
Peggy Noonan, What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era (New York: Random House, 1990), ch. 5. (on Canvas).
Watch the State of the Union tomorrow night.

Wag the Dog

Polling (Edwards 123-124)

How can 1000 people represent the whole country?
Random samples
Response rates

What is public opinion?

Cognitive (Thinking/Beliefs): Represents knowledge, intellectual capacity, and beliefs about a subject.
Affective (Feeling/Emotions): Relates to emotional responses, attitudes, and moods toward the subject, such as liking or disliking something.
Evaluative (Judgment): Assessment of value, good/bad, or success/failure.
Conative (Action/Intent): Refers to t behavioral intention to act, such as the intention to vote

All dimensions are connected. Think about implications for presidential communication.

Cognitive

Approval of individuals: mix of affective and evaluative

Presidential approval:
Decay curve
21st century trend toward lower approval (Edwards 135-136, 139-140). Connect to last Wednesday's discussion of close elections.

Why?

What influences attitudes toward the president and national conditions?

So what can a president do?

Bill Clinton explains "crafted speech":

So what do I use polls for on the issues? What I primarily use polls for is to tell me how to make the argument that's most likely to persuade you that I'm right about what I'm trying to do. ... Okay. I'll give you an example where, according to the polls I have the unpopular position, okay? The Congress passes a repeal of the estate tax, an outright repeal. Now, I can--and I'm going to veto it if it comes to my desk, okay? Now, I can say the following. I can say, "I'm going to veto this because it only helps less than 2 percent of the people and half of the relief goes to one-tenth of one percent of the people, and it's an average $10 million." That is a populist explanation.

I can say, "I'm going to veto it because we only have so much money for tax cuts, and I think it's wrong to do this and say this is our highest priority, when we have done nothing to lower the income taxes of low-income working people with three kids or more or to help people pay for child care or long-term care for their elderly or disabled relatives or to get a tax deduction for college tuition."

Or I could say, "I think there should be estate tax relief." I do, by the way. "I don't care if it does help primarily upper income people. The way so many people have made so much money in the stock markets in the last 8 years, there are a lot of family-owned businesses that people would like to pass down to their family members, that would be burdened by the way the estate tax works, plus which the maximum rate is too high. When it was set, income tax rates were higher, but there was a lot of ways to get out of it. Now the rates are lower, but you have less ways to get out of it. You have to pretty much pay what you owe more." So I could say that.

So it's not fair to totally repeal it. Like even Bill Gates has said, "Why are you going to give me a $40 billion tax break." And he's going to give away his money, and I applaud him and honor him for it.

So I could make either of those three arguments. It's helpful to me to know what you're thinking. I know what I think is right. I'm not going to change what I think is right. But in order to continue to be effective, you have to believe I'm right. So that's kind of what I use polls for.

Nixon memo

Knowledge of predecessors
Third person discussion of self: "I speak first of the simple idea of warmth. I don't mean by that that we want to get away from the fact that the President is reserved, dignified, etc., but there are numerous incidents of warmth that have not come through. Now here, I want to emphasize a point that will go against what Sa fir e would like everybody wants me to sit down and talk to members of the staff in a puffing way about how "nicey nice" I have been to them. That is not the way to do it. If warmth is to be believable, it must be discovered, and at this stage there are many examples.

Second Assignment, Spring 2026

Pick one:

Option 1

Track a major policy proposal from President Trump's February 24, 2026 State of the Union. Explain the message war: how Republicans sell it, how Democrats counter, and who "wins" the first five days (including the Sunday talk shows). Use public opinion data, message pickup, elite cues, media stories, and any movement you can document. Define what “win” means in your analysis. Poll results are available at major media outlets and these sites:

Option 2

Compare Vice President Vance to any vice president since Nixon's time as Eisenhower's veep. Has the vice presidency grown more powerful, specialized, political, or presidential? Consider whether differences come from personalities or institutional changes. Look at each veep’s policy portfolio (if any), political role, and relationship with the president. Use at least one presidential or vice presidential memoir, one scholarly book or article, and reputable news sources.

Option 3

Choose one office from the White House internship list and explain why you would want to be an intern there. Go beyond the official description: what does the office really do, and how much influence does it really have? Use primary sources such as executive orders, press releases, speeches, internal memos, news coverage, and interviews with former staff. Also look at books and articles about White House staff. Explain what the office truly produces and its role in presidential governance. Finally, explain why it fits you.

The specifications:

Essays should be typed (12-point), double-spaced, and no more than four pages long. I will not read past the fourth page.
Please submit all papers in this course as Word documents, not Google docs or pdfs.
Read Strunk & White and my stylesheet (with links to model papers). Watch my writing lecture.
Cite your sources. Please use endnotes in the format of the Chicago Manual of Style. Endnotes do not count against the page limit. Please do not use footnotes, which take up too much page space.
Misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own work is plagiarism and will result in severe consequences
Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you.
Return essays to the Canvas dropbox for this class by 11:59 PM, Friday, March 13. (If you have trouble with Canvas, simply email it to me as an attached file.) I reserve the right to dock papers one gradepoint for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.

See this page for Internet resources on the presidency.

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Presidential Elections

For Monday, Edwards ch. 5 and Nixon memo to Haldeman.

Questions on the assignment? Be sure to link anecdotes to national patterns and trends. Document what you say.

For your writeup, answer one of the discussion questions at the end of chapter 5. Alternatively, you may offer a guess as to the winner of the 2028 election, but provide reasons based on this week's material.

Keep an eye on the Iran situation. We will later discuss war powers.

What are conventions for anymore?

Sometimes they backfire, big time