For Class on 10/5: We the People

Please note this blog will be up for almost 2 weeks until Oct. 5!

This past week the Obama administration launched We The People, a new way to create, view, and sign petitions that go directly to the Obama Administration.You can view the official video about how it works by clicking here. You should definitely look around the We the People site and get more information and see the petitions that are currently open (and sign some if you agree with them!!). The Obama administration has promised to be more accessible and transparent than any other presidency. What do you think about this method of communicating with the President? Do you think this is a positive step? How effective do you think these petitions will be? How does this relate to our discussions of the modern presidency? Finally, if you are interested, would you create a petition and what would it be about?

As always, feel free to comment on any of these prompts or respond generally to the We the People site. The key is to have a conversation with your classmates so respond to one another.

For Class on 9/21: The More Things Change...

This week we are addressing the idea of the traditional, or Constitutional, presidency and the modern presidency. While there is no doubt that the powers, influence, responsibility, and scrutiny of the president have all increased exponentially there are some issues that have confronted presidents throughout our history. The Tea Party movement, which is a loosely affiliated group of conservative Americans supporting lower taxes, reduced national debt, and smaller government (for more info on the Tea party click here) represents a challenge that is far from new. Take a look at this recent interesting New York Times article which focuses on the recent debt ceiling debate (again click here for some background if needed) and compares it to similar challenges faced by Thomas Jefferson and other presidents. Then use the following prompts to start your blog discussion. To be clear you are not expected to answer each of the questions, they are meant as a way to start the conversation. You can feel free to respond generally to the article and, as always, to the other comments left by your classmates.

1. What was similar about the modern situation and the ones facing earlier presidents? 
2. What was different?
3. What does this article suggest about the changes (or lack therof) that the presidency has gone through?

Reminder: please keep your comments to one long or two short paragraphs and feel free to agree or disagree with previous comments.

Initial Presidential Evaluation

Richard Neustadt, one of the most respected experts on the American presidency argues that we should ask four questions in order to appraise the personal performance of a president:

1.     What were his purposes and did these run with or against the grain of history? (in other words, what are his actions and are they appropriate for the time in which he held the office?)

2.     What was his “feel,” his human understanding, for the nature of his power in the circumstances of his time?

3.     What was his stance under pressure in office, and how did this affect his decision making?

4.     What is his legacy?

We will start our examination of the presidency by beginning a preliminary evaluation of our current president, with no prior political knowledge necessary. Because president Obama is still in office we cannot discuss his legacy. However we can evaluate his actions, “feel,” and stance under pressure. Please give your gut rating on President Obama’s actions as president, his “feel” for the people (does he get it?), and how he has acted while under undeniable pressure. Rate him from 1-10 on each of the scales then provide a brief reason why.  For instance:

Actions: 2

“feel” for the people: 8

actions under pressure: 5

Then simply explain your rating.

Keep in mind these are your opinions and there are no wrong answers!

Welcome!

Welcome to your American Presidency poliblog experience! Each week you will be required to read the post for that week (which may include a news article, question, comment, controversial issue, etc.) and respond with your comments. Each of your comments should be no more than 1/2 page (one long or two short paragraphs) and must be posted by 8:00 Tuesday night. You do not need to do any outside research in order to respond, just reflect on the topic of that week, the other comments posted on the blog, and make an argument presenting your views. You must post at least one comment on 8 different weeks (NOTE: you do not need to write a comment every week). But you MUST read the post and all comments either Tuesday night or Wednesday each week. Enjoy the world of the poliblog!