The Media's Influence (Tory Johnson)

I don't think I've ever really thought about "the liberal media" as much as I have this week. A majority of the speakers that we heard this week all had something to say about bias in the media. Our site visit to Accuracy in Media (AIM) clearly believes that the liberal media is ever-present and a strong influence on the American public. Their goal came across as fighting the liberal media with the conservative viewpoints of the issues (nevermind the stories that are clearly conservative). Steve Bell, our faculty director, spoke to the fact that Obama had more positive coverage than McCain did during the election season. He showed us video clips of the treatment each candidate received on morning talk shows like The View. The panelists on this show really threw hard questions McCain's way while on their show, yet they talked more about Obama's rockstar persona when interviewing Barack Obama. Does the media's positive attention on Barack Obama present a problem for understanding this candidate? Is Obama's extreme popularity due to his message of hope an obstacle he must overcome? I'm afraid it is.

I am inspired by Barack Obama. I feel that if anyone can change the way our country relates with the rest of the world and can protect the American people by working to provide healthcare for everyone as well as a quality education, he can do it. However, I worry. America is extremely energized. They've witnessed Obama's charismatic speeches, his positive media coverage, and his emphasized message for change, and they are ready to rally behind him. Expectations are high, and I'm worried. Change is not going to come quickly. I fear that the energy of the public will quickly die down and become frustration and criticism of Obama as he begins his work as the President. I do not think that we can expect much progress quickly. As Dana Perino said, the First 100 days deadline is false. Because our government is set up as a checks and balances kind of system, cooperation between the executive and legistlative branches is key in bringing the change we need. Sam Donaldson cautioned our audience, telling us not to expect everything to get fixed soon. I just wish that the entire American public could understand the obstacles facing Obama and his administration as far as bringing change quickly to the world. We cannot be too emotional in our support for Obama. We also have to be critical and logical. I fear that the media have not emphasized this point enough. Maybe the media have focused too much on Obama's positive attitude. One girl in a Q&A session asked if our optimism is a problem. As much as I wanted to say, "No!", I couldn't. Optimism is great, yes, but without the complete understanding of the issues and the obstacles that lay ahead, optimism is a false sense of hope. We need to have hope but also have patience. If the media can focus on this now instead of Obama's rockstar image, I feel that we really can make progress in the world.

Problem or Solution (Bryant Harden)

Michael Genovese, author of Memo to a New President, spoke to us on the 15th about if the President is the solution or the problem.

How many monuments and action figures are there of Presidents?

How many monuments and action figures are there of members of Congress?

How many monuments and action figures are there of Justices?

I don't know the exact numbers to the above questions but I've visited the Presidential monuments and I have a Ronald Reagan action figure that speaks his words. Genovese asked these questions to prove that the Presidency has turned into the biggest celebrity.

The United Stated of America's founders wanted to get away from the divine right of kings and take a step towards the divine right of people. But as Genovese put it, "The American Presidency which was limited at first has become an elected king."

This would be opposed by the founders because as Genovese said most of the declaration was bashing of the king and the framers were anti-executive. The main concern was protecting peoples liberty but this limited view of the President has been growing larger and larger over the years.

Alexander Hamilton presented a defense for a powerful executive in Federalist when he wrote for the need of “energy in the executive” that it is “essential to the protection…against foreign attacks.”*

*http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2008/1012/comm/sempa_warpowers.html

Genovese is obviously right in that executive power has increased over the years and when it has there has been a crisis. He brought up President Bush and his stepping over the boundaries of the President.

The Q&A session came and I jumped up, surprisingly first in line, and asked, "If, as your claim, President Bush overstepped his presidential powers, why didn't the congress and the courts pull back on his extra constitutional powers."

His answer was that the Courts did their job whereas Congress failed because they didn't stand up for their institution. He blames Congress 1st and the people 2nd. The last President to ask Congress for a declaration of war was FDR and we have had 4-6 conflicts since then in which Presidents haven't asked for that declaration.

Congress should stand up and challenge every President. They shouldn't enable or disable but challenge because ultimately the President should serve the Constitution. That's what he takes an oath to do.

I did not vote for President-elect Obama, but I commend him on his balanced approach after winning the election. This goes along with his 50 state strategy which shows he not only wanted to win but he wants to govern!

The President should protect our country and although some people say Presidents are the problem, I believe that most Presidents act with the information they are given and in the best interests of the people (but they should follow the Constitution)

And let's not forget my potato from the first day...

Genovese (Sam Vogel)

So I finally finished Memo to a New President!!!! WOOT! During the first section of the book I felt like Genovese was arrogant and I wasn't looking forward to the rest of the book. However, I really enjoyed the second part of the book. I think that Michael Genovese organized the layout very well (unlike the organization of TWC). In the "Self" section, Genovese made points towards being a good President that I felt Obama already has. Barak Obama has personality traits that Genovese described as Presidential musts. Among these include "painting a picture with words," a skill that Obama has under his belt (101). He also mentions being "handsome, poised, witty, and self-assured,) more characteristics Barak Obama already possesses. 

Even thought I like parts of Genovese's book, I did not agree with certain comments he makes. He suggest, "don't be yourself." While not being yourself may be a quicker ticket to success, the American people want their President to be a person they know, not someone who is fake. 

My favorite part of the book was the chapter called "The Paradoxes of the American Presidency." I thought it was really interesting to read about all of paradoxes that the American public expect from a President. Although I liked the book, I was annoyed that he stuck arrogant and cocky comments throughout. After seeing him speak in person I feel like his personality comes out in his book more than I thought.

Service (Charles)

http://www.usaservice.org/page/s/RFKservice

hey y'all...i signed up for this at the 2-3 time slot. take a look and see what you think...we might all be able to get in.

SORRY (Sam Vogel)

Wow that text was really super big! Sorry bout that!

Four days and counting (Sam Vogel)

Even though it is four degrees outside I am somehow managing to get through each long day! Each new day seems to become more and more interesting.

One of my favorite speakers so far has been Dana Bash, senior congressional correspondent for CNN. I felt she had a very intelligent insight into the media and how it affects political personalities, and especially how it affected the election of Barak Obama into the presidential office. I agreed with most of the ideas she discussed such as the idea that Obama had an advantage over Hillary in the primaries because of his positively portrayed media image. She made it clear that McCain had communication issues, whereas Obama thrived in a communicative setting.

While I agreed with most everything that Dana Bash said, I was sometimes confused at her comments and disagreed with other ones. Towards the beginning of her speech, she made the comment that Obama and McCain are more similar than they seem. Even though I wasn’t a senior correspondent for the campaign, I did not see this. To me, the too candidates were alike in very few ways. She also stated that McCain had a lot of charm. While I don’t deny the possibility of McCain having a charming personality, it seems silly to call him charming when compared to Obama. Again, I was not next to McCain for the entire election and she was, however my views through the media do not seem to think its reasonable to pick McCain as the more charming candidate. Overall, however, I really enjoyed Dana’s presentation and I think her job sounds very interesting and full of fun.

After our site visit to the Canadian Embassy yesterday, we decided to go to the National Archives. As we were crossing the street, local police were preparing for a motorcade. We waited for a while and finally the motorcade began. After many motorcycles and police SUV’s we saw an African American waving hand out of one of the SUV’s. Of course our conviction is that this was Barak Obama!

I hope to brave the even colder weather tomorrow as the temperature gets down to 0 degrees!!!!! 

Abigail Foy *Yesterday since I posted after 12

The days just seem to get colder and colder. Each day continues to start off with lectures at the University of Washington, D.C. It has been a great accomplishment the past two morning that Autum, Julia and I have made it to the University without getting on the wrong Metro....we seem to be getting the hang of things.

This morning in particular was extremely interesting because we were able to listen to and do a Q&A with George Bush's Press Secretary, Dana Perino. She was extremely honest with our audience and was very informative when questions were asked about the Bush administration and their choices and actions that were shown through the press.

The Canadian Embassy was also a highlight of today although our speaker, Roy Norton who is a Minister (Congressional, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs) for the Embassy. He gave us and incredible insight into what Canada thinks about the US and our policies on anything from our form of government to our different health care programs.

Some of us also visited the US Archive Museums and got to go through a couple of exhibts that includeds the orignal Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta and Bill of Rights, along with many others.