For the blog this week we are going to take on the role of campaign advisor to president Obama and/or his Republican challengers. First, take a look at the major issues that have dominated recent political headlines. The President (and Congress) have many issues that they are dealing with while always positioning themselves for the upcoming 2012 election (even though its 13 months away!). Whether President Obama, and his Republican challengers, effectively address the issues most important to Americans could go a long way in changing how people feel and who will win the upcoming election. Remember, most don't follow politics too closely and have relatively short memories in terms of political and economic issues.
Start by
taking a survey similar to those conducted by polling companies and
news organizations regarding what issues are most important to you. You
can find the survey here.
Next take a look at how your responses and the responses of your classmates compare to national polls here.
Then
please post a comment describing your reactions and offering advice to the President Obama (regardless of whether you support him in real life) or his Republican challengers. You can use any or
all of the following prompts as a starting point if you wish.
- What are your reactions in general to taking our class survey (results will be available in class), or the professional survey results?
- Based on the polls and the news, what issue(s) should President Obama and/or the Republic challengers focus on in terms of his reelection bid?
- How should President Obama address these issues? What rhetorical/leadership style do you think would be most persuasive? Is this the same or different from how Republican candidates should address these issues?
Note: This is a double blog opportunity, meaning that if you post more than one comment (leaving a few days and comments between your entries, you can earn two blog credits for this week. As the blog discussion evolves feel free to allow the conversation to move away from the original prompts.
It’s very apparent from the polls that the economy is the most pressing issue in people’s minds, and assuming that things continue in the current trend this will be an election based on the economy. President Obama has a very significant, although very challenging opportunity while in office to prove himself on the issue—not so much in what is passed, as that clearly hasn’t really been going his way, but more in terms of how he convinces the public that he can indeed make things better. If I was him (and clearly I'm not, so this is with a huge grain of salt), I would try and blame Congress on stronger terms and paint them as the villain. Many people are questioning Obama’s basic ability to actually get the economy back on its feet and get the US out of its current spell, and I think that he first and foremost needs to establish the electorate’s trust that he can in fact do that. To buttress that point, I’d emphasize all the positive things that he’s accomplished, to sort of subliminally convey “this is what I could do if congress was more cooperative”. Obviously, none of this addresses the root of any potential issues at all, but the reality is that elections are about words and persuasion, and that any evaluation of a presidential candidate on the public’s part is ultimately subjective and based on their impression of a candidate and his words, and not an objective evaluation of who is best suited for the job. I therefore think that it’s important for Obama that he take a strong and organized stance on the issue, because otherwise it could very easily be his downfall, given its obvious importance for the American people.
ReplyDeleteI was not shocked at all by the national polls because I too, both in my head and in the personal poll, ranked the economy and jobs to be the most important issue for President Obama to be working on right now. So that was most definitely not shocking. As a side note, the federal deficit also came close to the most important issue, due to the fact that it is very interconnected to the economy as a whole. Therefore, it is pretty clear that Obama and his Republican challengers should be working hard at trying to turn the economy around as well as the federal deficit. I believe that they are trying, however, succeeding...not so sure. In addition, I noticed that in most of the polls, the next most important issue was healthcare. Although the percentages weren't close, that did seem to be the runner-up issue. Therefore, it would be wise for the President and his challengers to focus their main attention on the issue of healthcare as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the President should address these issues in the most proper and regal manner. I did not agree with his tactic that he used about a month ago when he accentuated his accent and spoke improperly and sounded uneducated in order to relate to his audience. A President should always maintain his leadership role and act in a Presidential manner. And therefore- especially when dealing with what America has deemed the most important issue of our time, he must treat it as such. He is the President and the people depend on him to act appropriately and fix it regardless of how many times they have been let down. I believe that the same is the case for his Republican challengers. A presidential candidate, when dealing with the most important issue in America, must treat it with the appropriate sincerity and seriousness. This is not to say that there is never a time for accentuating one's different qualities at different times, however when appealing to the people about the aforementioned issues, an unusual rhetoric would not be advisable. It is only in that way that his presidential repertoire will remain unscathed in the long-term.
-Pamela Apfel
When thinking about the most important issue currently facing the country before and after looking at the poll results, Clinton's campaign slogan, "It's the economy, stupid" was the main thing on my mind. Every paper you look at, every television news show you watch, and every online news blurb always speaks of the spiraling economy and discouraging unemployment statistics. I truly believe that whoever is going to win the 2012 presidential election is not going to succeed if he/she does not give the American public a sense of hope in regards to the economy and jobs. The candidate's views on gay marriage, abortion, or even the conflict in the Middle East is not going to be the essential component to his/her winning the election (although the candidate's relationship with Israel may be so for Jewish Americans, I don't think it will be so for the other 98% of the population.)
ReplyDeleteI think Obama is taking the right steps at this point and time in positioning himself as a leader who is fighting to fix the unemployment rate. He proposed the 447 billion dollar job bill, which although was rejected by the Senate, included comprehensive measures towards creating jobs. Regardless of one's opinions on the benefits of the bill, Obama promoted it and now has shown the public he has done his part in attempting to fix this major problem. Since it was rejected, this has given him the ability to paint the Republican opponents in Congress as the job-killers, which allows him to gain favor with those who despise a "do-nothing Congress." Finally, he is now saying that he will propose pieces of the bill in Congress so he can pass anything to help unemployed Americans. All of these steps help to portray Obama as an advocate for fixing the unemployment rate while painting his challengers as the reasons why change is not happening.
I think the Republican challengers need to promote concrete visions of how they will remedy the economic situation immediately. Rick Perry recently visited Pennsylvania and spoke of creating off shore drilling opportunities. I commend any candidate who gives detailed accounts of how they plan on fixing the economy and unemployment problem, and I believe the majority of Americans will value and appreciate such acts. Mitt Romney, who is worth around 250 million dollars, telling a group of unemployed Floridians that he "was also unemployed", is the type of rhetoric that I (and I assume many other Americans) find particularly offensive and unsympathetic.
It certainly was not surprising that economy was at the tops of the polls -- even our class discussions and presentations have brought up the economy more than most any other issue. I think Sarah put it well: "this will be an election based on the economy." I think the economy takes the reigns as the overriding issue because it has effects that people feel most intensely on an individual level, especially in a society that is very focused on material comfort. The economy is therefore the most pressing issue on people's minds, even if there are other issues that are very important to address for the long term. I personally found it surprising that energy and the environment didn't even make it onto most of the national polls as a priority!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the economy, I definitely think that what people care about hearing most in speeches for the 2012 election are plans for concrete action so that they do not feel eternally stuck in the current situation. That being the case, it is dangerous to get too nitty-gritty, not just because people will have more fine points to disagree about when they get a lot of detail, but also because Congress will do plenty to adjust the fine points when the plan gets past the president. I would say that the best bet is to address the public without the specific numbers and statistics, but to give them a conceptual understanding of the plan: where money will be taken from, where it will go, and how it will help. At least that's what I would like to see :)
When taking the survey I was not too surprised at the topics I was asked to state my opinion on. These topics are usually hot topics around election time. I was also not surprised that the overwhelming issue most Americans feel needs to be addressed is the economy and jobs. Many Americans are losing their jobs each day with no success at finding new ones because employers have no incentives to hire new employees. Therefore, people are not able to pay for their homes, health insurance and basic necessities like food. This will be President Obama’s and the future Republican presidential candidate’s defining issue. If they can properly and convincingly address constituents that they can solve or somewhat alleviate the problem in the short term, they will most likely have the best shot at becoming president. President Obama is counting a lot on his Jobs Bill and is really pushing for it as seen by his state to state bus tour. He knows that this issue is paramount and if he cannot do something about it, he will be a one term president. Whoever the Republican candidate is needs to emphasize that unemployment rates have soared under President Obama and his bid to get American’s out of an economic slump have only worsened the situation. On the other hand, President Obama should emphasize that he inherited an already defunct economy and he is only trying to make the best of an already impossible situation. Presidential races are all about rhetoric and who can be the most convincing to the American people. We all know that the promises made in presidential races are not always kept and the 2012 race will be down to the wire.
ReplyDeleteLike already said by many, I’m not surprised at all to find the economy to be the top concern of the American people. Whether it is declining job growth, increasing food and energy prices, falling housing prices, or financial market chaos, this issue takes precedence in most American’s lives in one way or another. I do presume that the issue of troops in Iraq was once more highly ranked in American’s importance scale. However, Obama’s decision to remove the rest of the troops from Iraq by the end of the year is quite momentous after over eight years of invasion in Iraq. This also brings in end to an extremely unpopular war. I think the fact that Obama ended the war will be an interesting piece to his campaign, since Obama got to remind the American people that he opposed the war, which was definitely a piece for his victory in ’08. Obama said "After a decade of war," he added, "the nation that we need to build -- and the nation that we will build -- is our own." Let’s hope this means good things for the economy.
ReplyDeletePosted for Michelle:
ReplyDeleteIn this election, the most important people to win over are the Independents. I think its fair to say that most people who identify as Republicans won't vote for Obama and most people who identify as Democrats won't vote for the Republican candidate. The tricky thing is that Obama and the Republican candidate have to stay true to their base while winning over as many independents as they can. I think its clear that the main issue is the economy. I think the most effective thing for Obama to do would be to persuade people that he stabilized the economy, and that without him the economy would have been much worse (which is hard to prove which also makes it hard to disprove) I think people are sick of all the bickering in politics so rather than point the finger at Congress and say everything is their fault ( which he can only say for the latter part of his presidency) I think the more effective thing for Obama to do, not exclusively about the economy, would be to vocalize his Democratic ideals to appease his base, and to explain why his ideas are better than his Republican counter parts and back it up with evidence. He should also address the fact the very real possibilities that his ideas for legislation may not pass Congress unscathed and express to the people that he will try to compromise as much as he can without losing the most important parts of his idea. He needs to show the people that he is a good leader that can rise above it all, and express to the public that he will try his hardest to work with Congress because he knows it is in the best interest of the people. It may not be entirely possible to work with Congress, but the people want to see and effort being made.
Michelle
As a graduating college senior, I agree 100% that the main focus of the upcoming election should be creating jobs and working on the economy. I was not surprised to see that at the top of the list in pretty much all polls. #Occupywallst is a good example of the unrest in the government. Watching videos and reading articles about the protests remind me of the revolutions and protests of the 60s. This is an important, and very historically relevant moment in America, and I would advise both sides to address the issues.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see all the troops out of Iraq, but I can't help wonder what all of the soldiers will do after they return if there aren't enough jobs as it is, and I'm sure many soldiers will return with either physical or psychological disabilities that will make it even more difficult for them to return to normalcy and start a career. I'm not saying the economy has to be fixed completely in order for Obama to pull out all the troops, but there is a delicate balance of priorities that should be considered heavily.
-Tovah Silbermann
I agree with majority of the class so far about how the people’s main concern and worry is with regard to the economy. Both the Republican Party and the President and democrats must be focusing their election campaign on this problem. People want to hear that whoever is elected will do everything in their power to fix the issues. President Obama has to stop blaming President Bush for his mistakes and now come in and fix the problem. He must use this time to rise above party politics and deal specifically with only the issues. He should not worry about what Congress is saying and should definitely not get into a blame game or a “he said; she said” accusation. The public realizes there are issues that divide the parties, but are tired of hearing each blame the other. They want to see and hear change and progress. While the economy is the main issue, our economy is driven by jobs and people getting back to work. People feel better when they are working and contribute to the economy when they feel positive about themselves. The President must ignore politics and concentrate all his efforts on getting the people of the United States working again. When people start working the politics will work out for him. President Obama said during the previous elections that he was the leader for “Change”; now he has the chance and opportunity to explain what he will do to get that change implemented. As for the Republicans they also should be focusing on this and explaining what there policy is rather than constantly be seen as saying that the President is always wrong and bad for the people. They must define why they would be better than the President by putting actual policies and ideas on the table.
ReplyDeleteIt is of course no surprise that jobs and the economy is what is on every voters mind, especially with the current Occupy Wall St. protests. What Obama (along with the Repub Candidates, but Obama specifically) must do is that the public is sick of politicians trying to cover their own careers. With the economy in a rut and the population quickly losing hope in our government, now is the time for a candidate to not focus on himself and what HE can do, but what he and Congress can do. I think Obama's difficulty with Congress was a given - that's what happens when you have a Democratic president and an overwhelming Republican standing in Congress. I think the candidates need to preach compromise. While a candidate may not be able to get everything done exactly the way they wanted to, they should at least attempt to work with Congress to get something done. Something is better than nothing. One job is better than no jobs.
ReplyDelete- Leah Avner
It is abundantly clear that the key to winning this upcoming presidential election will be solely based on the solutions offered for the current economic issue. The national polls prove that this issue is not only the top priority for most Americans but it also received the majority of votes by a landslide in many of the polls taken. This is not surprising considering the fact that every American was or is still affected by the issue today. Particularly, the lack of jobs is at the forefront of people’s minds since without increasing the amount of working Americans the economy won’t start flourishing properly again. Therefore, it would be ludicrous for any candidate in the upcoming election not offer a major solution for the economic problem above all else. Even if the only thing a candidate had to offer were some type of successful solution towards the economy that candidate would still probably become the next president. Mainly because that feat on its own is worth more to Americans right now than all the other issues combined. Therefore, if the candidates running for president are smart they will put 99% of their energy towards creating a solution for the economic and job issues. The next crucial move after that would be to make sure to actually implement those ideas and avoid making false promises that will never come to fruition or else that candidate will instantly lose the people’s support and their vote for the presidency.
ReplyDeleteAn overwhelming number of people polled consider the economy and unemployment the most pressing issues in American politics. Based on these polls, I agree with many of my classmates that President Obama and the Republic challengers should focus primarily on stimulating the economy and lowering the unemployment rate.
ReplyDeleteI think that President Obama may have a more difficult time tackling these issues compared to the Republican candidates. This is simply because President Obama is currently in office and people are unhappy with the status quo. To convince the public that he is serious about these issues I would advise him to have an actual plan detailing exactly how he plans to tackle these problems. At the same time, I think it is important that this plan be presented in a way that is easy to follow and not too dense and complicated. Regarding the Republican candidates, while I personally would like to hear a concrete plan from them as well, they may be able to address these specific issues more vaguely and still gain the confidence of the people. By bashing President Obama’s current policies and promising to act in a different manner it may be enough for them to gain support and convince the public that they are capable of fixing the current economic issues.
I think that all the issues on the survey we took were very important. I did rank some more important than others based on the fact that the question asked which you thought were important for the upcoming year. All these issues need to be taken care of, but unfortunately some isses take precedence over others at this time. In terms of all of the public surveys provided, along with everyone who wrote here already, I agree that economy and jobs are at the top of the list. This was not a surprise to me in the slightest. Most of the issues in each survey were ranked the same except for a few.
ReplyDeleteIn my most humble opinion, Obama and/or the Republican challengers should definitley focus and concentrate on what the public is pressing forward and that is solving the ecomonic problem and creating jobs. As I am part of the public and I'm not so familiar with how the government works, I want a clear answer. I agree with Sarina that wrote that people want to know "where money will be taken from, where it will go, and how it will help." Tova brought up a great point about what might happen to the soldiers coming back from Iraq; will there be jobs for them when they return? In my opinion, President Obama and the Republicans running really need to concentrate on these pressing issues that are effecting poeple's everyday lives. It is only natural for us to think more about the present time than the future, so this would be my advice to them: talk about what is happening now and come up with a logical solution to fix it.
-Tamar Benzaquen
I think that it is interesting to note that among the Republican contenders running for the nomination, Herman Cain was the first to come out with a somewhat comprehensive, focused plan to help the current economic situation. Without arguing whether the plan is feasible, Cain took a stance on the economy and figured out some approach that made sense to Americans. His 9-9-9- plan reached the ears of voters and this is seen via the fact that he is up in the polls. Some even went so far as to predict that if the election between President Obama and Herman Cain were to take place today based on how the economy is doing, Cain would win because of his seemingly solid plan. It is interesting to note that other Republican candidates are trying to play catch up with Cain by scrambling to put together some sort of comprehensive solution to economic problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lea Speyer. There is so much press for Herman Cain and the fact that he was the only candidate to release a comprehensible and solid economic plan. His 9-9-9 plan has gotten him great press and helped become a forerunner during the debates. He also has been receiving positive press since unlike other candidates and Obama who claim to have all the knowledge to help the nation, Cain readily admits that he doesn't know everything and is therefore ready to work with Congress and members of the Cabinet to make educated decisions. His selling point of being willing to gain information and guidance from others may be a great selling point for him based on everything else that is going on within the economy.
ReplyDelete- Leah Avner
Miriam mentioned making an economic plan that is simple and uncomplicated. While that certainly sounds like something that would benefit me, and probably most Americans, I am worried that it is an impossible situation to create both an extensively detailed plan and an uncomplicated plan. I was part of a team in high school called Fed Challenge, where the purpose was to study the economic climate and make suggestions to the Federal Reserve on how to make changes for the better. That stuff was not fun or easy. And no matter how much our econ teacher tried to water down basic economic tenants to reach our high school level, we still couldn't grasp most of the ideas. I have a feeling that most of America is like that as well...maybe education is a bigger issue ;)
ReplyDelete-Tovah Silbermann
As said by many, I was not surprised to see that my results of the survey matched the leading results of the national surveys, namely being the problems in our economy. The next series of issues to rank high percentages included government spending, the deficit and health care issues, which also did not surprise me and interestingly enough each are linked to the fact that our country is experiencing such problems in the economy. However, though the following 4 categories are important and are significant their percentages do not come nearly as close to the percentages given for the economic problems.
ReplyDeleteTherefore Obama and his Republican challengers should concentrate on giving over a reasonable and thought out plan to continue trying to solve our nations economic problems. Serious jobs need to be created, money needs to be spent, and appropriate taxes need to be taxed, collected and used for appropriate measures. In addition money needs to be collected to ensure health care can be provided for the American people. As these plans begin to be put into action (eventually), the American citizens will become more hopeful and appreciative to their national leaders, but also lives will be greatly enhanced!! Obama has discussed plans about taxing the richer citizens and collecting that money to be put into the economy but this plan or many of his other plans cannot be effective until Congress passes them. There is not one way or action that will solve the countries economic problems, because of how deep of an issue this has become, but Obama and his challengers need to do whatever they can in these desperate times to work with Congress to devise a plan. That should be the focus for the coming election!
I'm going to sound like a broken record, but clearly the economy is the number one issue. I was not at all shocked by this finding, as I believe it to be more than true. Obama has a very difficult uphill battle to fight in the next few months. He needs to prove to the public that he not only can and will fix the economy, but also that he is the only one who can get the job done. In order to do this, he will have to focus on Congress' lack of unity and he will also have to convince America that the Republicans will only make the the issue worse. If he can convince everyone that the Republicans will make everything worse and not better, then he has a real shot at winning. Otherwise, the public, which is very concerned with the current state of the economy, will likely want to try their luck with a Republican.
ReplyDeleteLike my peers have mentioned all before me, the economy is obviously the hot topic coming into the 2012 elections. Unfortunately, at times like these other important topics such as the environment, foreign policy, gay rights etc. are not as frequently discussed. The economy is something that every single citizen is affected by and therefore when the economy is going on a downward spiral the whole nation is panicked. Hence, Obama and the challengers should focus on the economy and push their policies in order to win the election. I think that Obama's strength has always been his speaking and since the people have had experience with him as President it might make them trust him more. On the other hand, if people are unhappy with Obama's economic policies so far they will be eager to see a different candidate take his position instead. Still, I believe that Obama has a great ability to make himself seem down to earth and relatable to the people who are having a hard time at this time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Miriam Fink though and believe that he should be careful to not be too detailed and complicated when he explains his policy. It's important that he try to keep his plan clear and straight forward so that the nation will understand it better.
When taking the polls, it felt pretty irrelevant what I filled out for the majority of the issues. All of the issues are important on some level, but frankly it doesn't matter how important any of them are, because the problems with the economy and unemployment are what America wants solutions to more than anything else. I agree strongly with Sarah in that it doesn't really matter who comes up with the best solution but rather who is best at convincing the public that they have the best solution. Therefore, Obama needs to do some explaining regarding why progress has not really been made thus far and what he will do to make sure that those things do not get in the way in the next term. His Republican candidates need to put down what Obama has (or has not) done and how their ways will be more successful.
ReplyDeleteIt's important that the President, whether it's President Obama, or any of the Republican candidates, really focus on the issues and what is important to the people. The Economy and Jobs seems to be of the utmost important- we don't need a poll to tell us that- so that really should be the main issue that is dealt with. I think that the candidates should really focus on presenting actual solutions that aren't just for show, or to get them elected, but will really be put into action at once. Promises are always going to be made, but the person who actually takes the people, whether it be through polls or petitions, and their voices and follows through with actions to help, thats the person who should be called "Mr/Mrs President".
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious that the economy is the most important issue facing Americans today. After all, it impacts each and every one of us in a very direct and real way. However, as Professor Epstein stated in the prompt, we Americans have short-term memory when it comes to our policy history. Therefore, just for clarification purposes, it's important to review the recent history of our economy. Due to a culmination of factors, the economy nose-dived in late 2008, just as President Obama was elected and entering office. Neither he nor his administration was responsible for the crisis, yet he entered at its peak, and the burden to solve the problem was placed on his shoulders. Of course this should be expected from our President, but to put blame on him for the entire crisis is an overstatement.
ReplyDeleteNow, President Obama is suffering from his lowest approval ratings yet. The only way he can succeed on the issue of the economy is to win back the hearts and minds of the people. Congress passed his stimulus package, which has proven to be ineffective, and in addition, he's attempted several unsuccessful policies to improve the state of our economy. As a result, there's a general mistrust among the citizens, and President Obama must acknowledge the failure of his previous efforts, and suggest new and different ideas for the future. On the idea of reconciliation with his Republican Congress, while it seems obvious that compromise works best, it's also unrealistic. There's too much hostility between the two parties, and therefore it would never happen, despite Obama's general interest in reconciliation (which he has attempted in the past, and would probably continue to support now).
The Republicans, on the other hand, are in an extremely powerful position. They can completely remove themselves from the issue of the economy by simply (but effectively) stating that they had nothing to do with it. Obama is a Democrat, and he failed to address the issues. It's possible that the best way for Republicans to gain support is to blame the Democrats for our problems. Negative campaigning is brutal, but successful. People can become angry enough with the status quo that they will support anything that opposes it.
- Elana Honick
I have to agree with everyone who posted above; the economy is the most important issue. As we have said in class, no one is concerned with abortion or even war when they cannot feed their families. Accordingly, it seems as though the economy is the only thing that Obama is talking about to the press, which is probably to his advantage.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the polls are concerned, however, it seems as though almost everything can be connected back to the economy:
health care- people cannot afford it so they don't have it, or they can afford it and are against raising taxes for socialized medicine.
budget deficit- economy
iraq/afghanistan- we have been in afghanistan for a decade now, the war on terrorism has become the most expensive war in history.
illegal immigration- if immigrants are taking jobs from citizens, americans get upset, etc.
Since the economy is at the forefront of the 2012 election, all candidates, especially Obama as the democrat bid should emphasize the importance and attempt to prove his capability to reform the economy.
As for the 3rd issue, the "leadership style," i think that it would help Obama to emulate the leadership style of FDR, specifically his fireside chats. He was able to comfort the nation in a time of great distress, similar to what we are experiencing now. The 99% are up in arms over the economy and the lack of jobs, it would certainly help if Obama appeared to care and looked like he was taking the steps necessary to reform.
It did not surprise me at all that the issue that many Americans found most pressing was that of the economy and unemployment. I was also not surprised that all of the issues that scored heighest in the poll all had to do directly with either the government’s money or that of the citizens’. It was interesting for me to note how much things have changes since Obama ran last. To the best of my memory, one of the most pressing issues in the last election was that of the wars we were fighting and how exactly to deal with national security. In this poll, the war in Afghanistan only ranked most important to five percent of those who were surveyed.
ReplyDeleteThe main issue people want to see resolved is that of the financial hardship so many find themselves suffering of. Last time Obama ran for president he promised change over and over again and people loved to hear that; they felt that he could magically mend all of the economy’s problems. Now people are disappointed with him and feel that their hopes have been let down. It is hard for me to say whether Obama should do more and say less or say more and do more. On the one hand you could say that he shouldn’t promise as much and not come through while on the other hand, I think everyone really needs a play by play of everything he plans on doing so as to really form an educated opinion of whether or not they really want to reelect him.
As for the Republicans, I think that they too must put the economy at the forefront of the issues they will deal with. I think that sometimes people view Republicans as heartless so part of attracting voters would be to mend that reputation which I think could be done through showing a deep understanding of a family’s necessity for financial stability or by displaying a connection to the people that is more personal on some level than one may expect of the government( not on a prying level but on a caring level.)
I think it is also important to keep in mind its not about what Obama can do about the economy its more important what he convinces the people he can do. Even if he manages to miraculously get his policy through congress people are not going to feel the effects of it before the election. The economy is in bad shape and isn't going to get better over night. This gives the republicans an upper hand because Obama has passed things and the beginning of his presidency , while the Democrats had the majority in Congress, that haven't been successful in jump starting the economy. What the Republican nominee(s) need to do is to call President Obama out on his two failed stimulus bills. They need to convince the people that they should vote for a Republican with new ideas to help the economy instead of having four more years of Obama's failed policy.
ReplyDeleteIn that respect the Republicans have it easier they have four years of material to work with. The republican have four years of policy to talk about. They can choose any policy and argue wether or not it was successful and whether or not it helped the country. Obama can only call out what the Republican candidate did in their states (as governor)or in Congress ( or in their pizza business), and while they are held accountable to their actions its harder to see how that will effect the people and how it will effect their use of the office of president. For OBama its clear to see how he will be as president and how his actions effect the people because he has been President for four years. So what the Republicans need to do is back their arguments with proof.
Being that I was the second person to post, I've had a lot of time to watch my classmates post similar ideas, namely that the economy is number one. However, I'd like to pose a question and voice a concern of mine: Although the economy is the number one pressing issue that the President should focus on, which is pretty clear from our ENTIRE blog and the national polls, the other issues facing us today, can't just be pushed aside. Yes, the economy is number one. But what about number two and three and four, etc. What about healthcare? What about the war wer'e fighting? What about immigration?? I understand that our blog and the polls were about priorities, but is it possible that we have more than one top priority?? Especially, the economy is clearly not going to be fixed over night, let alone fixed within the year, let alone will it DEFINITELY BE fixed...therefore, perhaps the President should be focusing on the issues lower down on the American's list of priorities in order to boost our morale and give us some hope. The economy is going to take a while to get better, so meanwhile shouldn't the White House and all politicians and candidates focus on America's other problems too, problems that can more easily be solved?? I know that I need some hope- hope that the people high up in government actually have the capability to make change happen and turn our problems around.
ReplyDeletePosted for Sarina:
ReplyDeleteI want to comment on what people have said about Herman Cain's success because of the 9-9-9 plan. I think it's important to note that his rising in the polls isn't necessarily because his plan is the most tweaked and perfected plan, but simply because it is a PLAN. His success just goes to show that this should be the focus of potential candidates, and if they compose similar plans, they'll be in greater competition against Cain.
I think it's also worth mentioning that Obama has it a lot harder than the Republican candidates because he is currently in the political situation to affect the economy. Therefore, in order to be effective for campaigning, he can only rely on action and making sure to implement some sort of economic plan to present to the country. Speeches can work for a GOP candidate, but not for Obama.
I agree with Pamela and think that she raised a great point. These other issues (ie, other than the economy) are really important for Americans, and although they may not be the most immediately pressing issues there will inevitably be a time where they will be, as (funnily enough) we don’t get to control the future—if it’s not one crisis at a given time, it’s something else. I therefore think that every candidate should emphasize how he/she is well rounded in the experience and skill set necessary to be president. From the couple of republican debates I’ve watched, while these other issues were addressed to some degree, a good part of the dialogue has been regarding the economy. While I am in no way negating the importance of this issue and the pressing need to fix it, the exclusivity with which it is dealt could be somewhat short-sighted. For me personally, I would only be able to trust in and have full confidence in a candidate who I feel is well-equipped for any of the plethora of issues that could come up, and I think its in the candidate’s best interest to make that show through more to the public.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I truly appreciated Pamela’s second blog after that long string of comments made solely about the economy, I can’t help but to think that the reason no one said anything similar sooner was because the reality is what it is. The economic issue is not just the top priority it is the only priority! It is the only current issue that literally affects every type of American citizen, whether they are old, young, rich or poor. I would even be bold enough to say that every American has been personally affected by this crisis whether they lost a job themselves or a family member or close friend did. It is difficult to try to focus on other problems in the world, like the war in Iraq, when there are so many more people suffering at our own doorsteps. And even though it is true that economy is not going to fix itself over night or even over many nights, it is still the government’s responsibility to move the process along as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the people’s suffering will end as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteAs i was reading over the results and thinking about the discussion in class today about the economy and jobs being number one, it is interesting to note that education is at the bottom of the list.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion education is the future. Without an education one can not learn a trade, or get hired for a job. Therefore I think a greater emphasis should be put on education.
If the government cuts funding to public schools- the chances of american children growing up and becoming future leaders is slim. Without a proper education, one is usually found struggling to find a job and living paycheck to paycheck.
Therefore I propose that we bump education to a top priority. I agree it is hard to allocate the budget, however without rational thinkers and proffessional individuals, america will not function. These tool of rationality and proffessionalism can only be found in an educational system.