Course Syllabus

PACE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE POL 296N Road to the White House Summer 2012 http://malonesroadtothewhitehouse.blogspot.com/ Dr. Christopher Malone Summer 2012 1101 Park Row Phone: 212-346-1146 Office Hours: email: cmalone@pace.edu Mondays 11am-1pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays www.christophermalonephd.com And by Appointment Course Description The first thing which strikes our attention [about the Constitution] is, that the executive authority, with few exceptions, is to be vested in a single magistrate… - Alexander Hamilton The Federalist No.69, 1788 Let me warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit exists under different shapes in all government; more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed, but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greater rankness and is truly their worst enemy...It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another; foments occasional riot and insurrection... - George Washington Farewell Address, 1796 [The president] is the party nominee and the only party nominee for whom the whole nation votes…He can dominate his party by being spokesman for the real sentiment and purpose of the country, by giving direction to opinion, by giving the country at once the information and the statements of policy which will enable it to form its judgments alike of parties and of mean…He may be both the leader of his party and the leader of the nation, or he may be one or the other. If he can lead the nation, his party can hardly resist him... - Woodrow Wilson Constitutional Government in the United States, 1908 When the Framers sat down in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to draft the Constitution, they had little idea of how they were going to design the office of the presidency. With absolutely no precedent in history upon which to base the parameters of the office, they were nonetheless certain of a few things. First, the Framers wanted a chief executive independent from the other branches of government, especially the legislative branch. Second, they wanted a chief executive insulated from the passions of the people, thus ensuring the person chosen would not become a demagogue. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they wanted a chief executive that would rise above what James Madison called the “mischief’s of faction,” thus giving voice to all the people rather than to the special interests that formed in society. The Framers then went about the task of designing a process of presidential selection that served all of these ends. Yet, the process by which candidates are chosen today for the office of the presidency has changed in ways that were unimaginable to the Framers. In our current two-party system, contenders for the office of presidency must capture the nomination of their respective parties – the same institutions that George Washington warned would kindle “the animosity of one part against another.” For the next four weeks, we will engage in an intensive, in depth focus on the presidential selection process. We will look at what candidates have to do in order to capture the party nomination, and the role that political parties play in linking voters to the only nationally elected office in the American system of government. We will also examine other important aspects of the process, including the role of the media and interest groups, and the demands of campaign financing. When this semester concludes, you should be able to make informed judgments about the impact of the presidential selection process on the democratic character of the American political system. The course will begin by looking at the creation, evolution, and current operating structure of the presidential selection process. Next it will turn to the financial, partisan, and media environments in which presidential elections occur. These environmental factors will be analyzed in some detail in an effort to discern how they affect candidate strategies and election outcomes. The strategy and tactics of the candidates as they proceed through the nomination process and then the general elections will be studied by looking at their principal components and how they fit together to form a strategy for victory. A particular emphasis of this section of the course will be the manner in which the candidates react to (and manipulate) the media in their campaigns. Finally, the course will turn to the analysis of this current presidential race with leading newsmakers, political commentators and journalists. Course Objectives and Learning Goals 1. To understand critically the legal and historical development of American institutions and its impact on the individual and collective lives of Americans. 2. To assess critically how the Constitution of the United States and government has shaped American democracy and contemporary American society. 3. To understand critically the political culture of citizen participation and exclusion. 4. To understand critically the structures, functions, and processes of the presidency of the United States. 5. To understand how the two-party system in America operates. 6. To understand the critical function of elections in a democracy. 7. To demonstrate the ability to write in a critical voice based on reasoned positions. 8. To demonstrate the ability to read difficult texts. 9. To demonstrate the ability to respond to and incorporate the work of other writers into essays, using proper source citation and avoiding plagiarism. By the end of the summer session, my hope is 1. You will gain critical awareness. In other words, not only will you learn about both mainstream and alternative approaches to law, culture, politics, and history in the U.S., but you will also appreciate the efforts of individuals involved in presidential elections. You will also learn to understand and challenge your own presumptions about the political world. 2. You will gain intersubjective communication skills. Through class discussions and group projects, writing assignments, and readings, you will understand the difficulties inherent in cooperation between groups with very different viewpoints. Through discussion of attempts in American society to overcome difficult legacies, such as slavery and discrimination, we will put ourselves in the position of communicating a variety of perspectives and working through impasses. 3. You will hone your writings skills in critical analysis. The assignments and discussions require you to integrate various themes and to compare/contrast the nuances of language and the law. This class will also expose you to readings that challenge mainstream interpretations of politics. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 1.) Attendance & Participation 15 points: It goes without saying that attendance and participation is critical to the success of this class. This course is intended to be interesting, informative and interactive, but it WILL NOT work if you don’t participate. Also, one book is required reading for this semester, which will be placed on reserve. Additional reading material will also be distributed throughout the semester to supplement the text and provide you with background on classroom discussions. 2.) Road to the White House Blog 30 points: This is an AOK 1 Civic Engagement course. For your AOK requirement, each student will create his/her own blog using the free Google blogspot site (http://www.blogger.com/home). Students will be required to blog weekly about the presidential race. I will be giving very specific details on this aspect of your grade during class. 3.) A Campaign Memo – How Will Your Candidate Win the Election 35 points: By the end of the term, you will hopefully understand what it takes to win a presidential election, including a focus on aspects such as the electoral strategy, messaging, fundraising, outreach to critical constituencies, lessons learned from previous elections, etc. I will ask that you step in the shoes of an analyst for your preferred candidate and write a 10-12 page memo-style paper on how he will win this election come November. Guidelines will be handed out very soon to get you started. 4.) Final Exam 20 points: A single exam will be administered at the end of the semester, which will include a series of short answer, multiple choice and essay questions. Unless you contact me in advance, there are no make-ups offered for this exam. 1.) Participation & Attendance 15% 2.) Road to the White House Blog 30% 3.) Presidential Election Campaign Memo: 35% 4.) Exam 20% BOOKS: • Stephen Wayne, Road to the White House 2012, 9th Edition, Wadsworth Press. NOTE: I WILL BE PLACING MY COPY ON RESERVE. IF YOU WISH TO PURCHASE IT YOU MAY, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY. Also, you will be required to keep up on events of the presidential election which will move fast. I recommend the following Important links for this class: • WWW.C-SPAN.ORG • WWW.C-SPAN.ORG/Distance_Learning • WWW.ABCNews.com (“The NOTE” Political Blog) • WWW.MSNBC.COM (“First Read” Daily Political Update) • WWW.CNN.COM (“Morning Grind”) • WWW.NYTIMES.COM (New York Times) • WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM (The Washington Post) Note: the last five here are sites you can subscribe to in order to receive daily emails on the day’s news. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU SUBSCRIBE TO THESE AND/OR OTHER NEWS ORGANIZATIONS. Suggested web sites for news/ research and information: www.c-span.org www.CampaignNetwork.org www.realclearpolitics.com www.politico.com www.hotsoup.com www.msnbc.com www.usatoday.com www.cbsnews.com www.abcnews.com www.foxnews.com www.cnn.com www.washingtonpost.com www.nytimes.com www.drudgereport.com www.washtimes.com http://www.tompaine.com/ http://www.portside.org/ http://www.humanevents.com/ ***************************** TV/Internet/Radio A ABC News AlterNet.org Arts & Letters Daily Associated Press B The Black Commentator BlackPressUSA BBC BET Networks Bloomberg C CBS CNN Common Conservative Conus DE Democracy Now! Drudge Report F Federalist Final Call FOX News G Gannett Google News HI Hotline Islam Online J Jewish World Review K Knight-Ridder L The Laura Ingraham Show M Media Channel MSNBC N National Public Radio NBC New American O The Onion Online Journal PQ Pipe Bomb News Political Wire R Radio America Network Reuters S Salon Scripps Howard News Service Slate The Smoking Gun T Talk Radio News Service Tom Paine U U.N. Wire United Press International V Vice Presidents W X Y Z WebActive Worldnet Daily ZNET ******************************** Blogs INDIVIDUAL/GROUP BLOGS: AmericaBlog.com American Patrol Andrew Sullivan Antiwar.com Blogs for Bush Brad DeLong's Website BuzzFlash.com Buzzmachine.com Captain's Quarters Common Cause Crooks and Liars.com Cybercast News Service Daily KOS Daniel W. Drezner DavidCorn.com David Frum's Diary Democratic Underground Extreme Mortman Free Republic Gawker Informed Comment Instapundit James Wolcott Marc Cooper Michelle Malkin MyDD New Donkey Newsbusters.org Pajamas Media Pesky' Apostrophe.com Pop & Politics Powerlineblog.com Public Agenda Blog Red-State.com Right Wing Nuthouse.com Samizdata.net Spirit of America Stew Webb Talking Points Memo The Angry Arab News Service The Black Republican INDIVIDUAL/GROUP BLOGS: cont. The Brad Blog.com The Chicago Boyz The Final Historian The Free Press.org The Huffington Post The RawStory.com The Smoking Room The Washington Note by Steven C. Clemons The Wonkette Vegan Blog: The (Eco)Logical Weblog Virginia Postrel Washington Monthly ARTICLES ON BLOGS: The Cyber Journalist.net BLOG AWARDS: 7th Annual Weblog Awards BLOG DIRECTORIES: All Weblogger Meetup Groups Blogdex Blogs.feedster.com BlogLines Blog Search Engine: Political Blogs Google Blog Search The Internet Public Library MovingIdeas: The Electronic Policy Network Technorati Yahoo: Weblogs BLOG START-UPS: BlogSpot: Hosted by The Blogger, how to get started Myspace.com COURTS BLOGS: SCOTUSblog How Appealing IRAQ BLOGS: A Family in Baghdad Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq Friends of Democracy Healing Iraq Iraq The Model: lists of related Iraq blogs Mahmood's Den Iraqi Bloggers Central Iraq Election Newswire NEWS BLOGS: The Guardian Unlimited Reason Magazine Online Wall Street Journal: James Taranto, Opinion Journal Tapped (American Prospect) The Corner (National Review Online) SURVEYS: PEW Internet & American Life Project: The State of Blogging VIDEO BLOGS: Demand Media Eric Rice.com Steve Garfield's Video Blog Vlog.com VlogMap.org Washington Post on Vlogs If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an academic accommodation, you must register with the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities. You can contact the coordinator at: 212 346-1526. Please let the instructors know as soon as possible so we can make arrangements in terms of reading, class work, etc. Incompletes for the semester will only be granted with documentation of medical/family emergency and consultation with me. Integrity in academic life requires that students demonstrate intellectual and academic achievement independent of all assistance except that authorized by the instructors. The use of an outside source in any paper, report or submission for academic credit without the appropriate acknowledgment is PLAGIARISM. It is unethical to present as one’s own work, the ideas, words or representations of another without the proper indication of the source. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to give credit for any quotation, idea or data borrowed from an outside source, including other students. Students who fail to meet the responsibility for academic integrity subject themselves to sanctions ranging from a reduction in grade or failure in the assignment or course in which the offense occurred or suspension or dismissal from the University. Students penalized for failing to maintain academic integrity who wish to appeal such action may petition the department chair or request a hearing on the matter. CLASS SCHEDULE: NOTE: THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE TOPICS: I. The History of Presidential Selection: The Electoral College and the Nomination System From “King Caucus” to Primaries II. Campaign Finance: Funding Presidential Elections III. The Political Process: The History of Voting in America – Who Votes, Who Doesn’t and Why IV. The Nomination System I: Primaries and Caucuses – What are They and How Do They Work V. The Nomination System II: Party Rules, Political Strategy, and the Chase for Delegates VI. The Nomination System III: Campaigning in a Crowded Field VII. The Running Mate: VP Candidates in Historical Context VIII. Presidential Conventions: the Spectacle and the Substance IX. The General Election I: The Ground War – The Electoral College and Geographic Strategy X. The General Election II: The Air War – Campaign Advertising in Historical Perspective XI. The General Election III: Messaging: the Role of Public Opinion, Polling and Focus Groups in Campaign Strategy XII. The Role off the Media in Presidential Elections XIII. Presidential Debates: The Spectacle and the Substance in Historical Perspective XIV. Election Day and Beyond: Explaining Who Won and Why