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Media Bias

An honest attempt to examine perceived media bias from reporters themselves? No!

One less Republican Senator

It's looking bleak for Ted Stevens...

Presidential Elections

From Federalist 39:

The executive power will be derived from a very compound source. The immediate election of the President is to be made by the States in their political characters. The votes allotted to them are in a compound ratio, which considers them partly as distinct and coequal societies, partly as unequal members of the same society. The eventual election, again, is to be made by that branch of the legislature which consists of the national representatives; but in this particular act they are to be thrown into the form of individual delegations, from so many distinct and coequal bodies politic. From this aspect of the government it appears to be of a mixed character, presenting at least as many federal as national features.

• An electoral college timeline.
• Bush v. Gore.
• The 2000 map
• Faithless electors
• Seeking flippers
• Cinematic map
• 2004 Exit Poll
• Strategy 2008: electoral college

Election Items

Here is a bit of information on Obama's transition plans.

Here is how Republicans currently view the campaign:

Readings on Presidential Elections

Here are the "TBA" readings for October 29. IF YOU CANNOT ACCESS AN ARTICLE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I SHALL EMAIL YOU A COPY.

• Ron Brownstein, "The Hidden History of the American Electorate," National Journal, October 18, 2008.
• Alan Abramowitz, " Forecasting the 2008 Presidential Election with the Time-for- Change Model," PS: Political Science & Politics, October 2008.
• Robert Draper, "The Making (and Remaking) of McCain," New York Times Magazine, October 22, 2008.
• Joshua Green, "Playing Dirty," The Atlantic, June 2004 (about opposition research in the 2004 campaign but mostly still relevant)

Presidential Effectiveness and Character

High-ranking presidents have tended to have large percentages of co-partisans in Congress at the start of their terms:

..............................House.............Senate

Washington.........57....................69
Jefferson.............64....................50
Jackson...............64....................52
Lincoln................59....................62
T. Roosevelt.......56....................62
FDR.....................72....................61



The Smoking Gun:



Nixon Farewell:

Second Assignment

Pick one of the following:

1. Forecast the popular vote (percentages) and electoral vote in the 2008 election. Explain. In your essay, you need not discuss every state, just the key battlegrounds. Attach a map or list of your state predictions, which will not count against the page limit. Here are some handy pages:

• http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/govt/jpitney/elect.htm
• http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/
• http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/?map=1
  
  

2. Using primary source documents online, explain one major presidential decision by one of the following:

• Harry Truman http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photos/av-photo.htm
• Eisenhower http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/
• JFK http://www.jfklibrary.org/historical+resources/archives/reference+desk
• LBJ http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/archives-main.shtm
• Nixon http://nixon.archives.gov/virtuallibrary/index.php
• Bush http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/research.php
  Also see a variety of sites at:
  http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/govt/jpitney/presidency.html
  
  
• Essays should be typed (12-point), stapled, double-spaced, and no more than four pages long. I will not read past the fourth page.
• Put your name on a cover sheet. Do not identify yourself on the text pages.
• Cite your sources. You may use either endnotes or parenthetical references to a bibliography. In either case, put your documentation in a standard format (e.g., Turabian or Chicago Manual of Style).
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you.
• Return essays by the start of class, Wednesday 29 October. Essays will drop one gradepoint for one day's lateness and a full grade after that. I will grant no extensions except for illness or emergency.

Presidential Greatness

Alternative ways of ranking presidents here, here and here, and here.

Skowronek Typology (see Pika 149)

..............................................................President's Political Identity

..........................................Opposed............................................Affiliated

Prev...........Vulnerable.......Reconstruction (FDR, Reagan).......Disjunction (Carter)
Est
Com ..........Resilient..........Preemption (Ike, Nixon, Clinton)...Articulation (Bush41)

Presidential Communication

JFK Inaugural:





Carter's "Crisis of Confidence" Speech


Reagan's Evil Empire Speech:



Contentious Nixon Press Conference:

Newspaper Article: Constitution Vague on JFK's Successor

I found this article while researching for my paper. It appeared in the New York Times on November 23, 1963. The article explains what the constitution says about what happens when the president dies or is otherwise removed from office and lays out the chain of succession. It also mentions that Tyler established the precedent of the Vice President taking on the title of President. After Kennedy was assassinated, the process of succession needed to be explained to the common person.

Follow this link: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=89977864&sid=1&Fmt=11&clientId=42799&RQT=309&VName=HNP
Click on the article and it will download the PDF version of the succession article

Nixon to Clinton

• President Nixon sought to rally the "silent majority" for his Vietnam policies.
• Ford was a healer.
• Carter wore a sweater.
• Reagan was a stronger communicator.
• Clinton, alas, will go down for an unfortunate phrase.