For 4/30 (NO CLASS MEETING ON 4/23): Congress

There are 535 members of the United States Congress emanating from 435 districts and 50 states across the country. The legislative branch is generally known as the most “democratic” branch in our constitutional system due to each member representing their constituents in terms of interests, values, and decision-making. Yet, according to David Mayhew, one of the leading congressional scholars of the last half century, the members of congress act with one goal in mind: that of reelection. Furthermore, he argues that congressional staff, committees, and political parties play a role in this. This single-minded goal is debatable and will require more discussion in class. But if we assume it is true, is it a bad thing that members of congress are motivated by the desire to be reelected? Does this constant pursuit of reelection have a positive or negative impact on representation? Feel free to expand this discussion to representation in general.

Reminder: Your 3-page Obama Reflection paper is due on 4/30

For Class on 4/16: Obama Reflection Paper

This week I would like you to start to discuss what will be your research paper topic for the semester. The details are below and it is not due until April 30. You do not need to do any research for your blog post but can start to think about which area you might want to select from the list below (you should focus on only one) and what position you might take. In short, use this blog as a brainstorming opportunity regarding your reflection paper a and general forum regarding President Obama's term so far. Try to be as specific as possible in your initial thoughts. I am not concerned about whether you love him or hate him (OK I am but not in this blog post) but start to talk about his job as president based on what you know about the man and about the position. See the details below.

President Obama Reflection Paper

Due April 30

For this assignment you are to write a 3 page reflection paper (12 point font, double spaced, normal 1” margins) evaluating the Obama Presidency up to this point. After reading this week's assignment you have a good understanding about the roles, powers, goals, and limitations of the presidency as well as the personal characteristics of President Obama as well as some of the strategies he has used. This is a reflection paper where you share your thoughts and opinions in a well thought out concise paper. You are required to use a minimum of three sources for your research which should be cited (I think that 1 hour or so searching for relevant news would be all you might need – please ask about appropriate sources of information if you have questions about this and start with the political news links on the course website). You are to pick a specific area of his first year and a half to evaluate. Some suggestions may include:

• His handling of the financial crisis
• His handling of the War in Iraq
• His handling of the War in Afghanistan
• His relationship with the media
• How “transparent” his administration has been (Is most of the work being done behind closed doors or does the public have access to it?)
• His relationships with his party or bipartisanship
• His foreign policy
• His use of technology
• Whether he has followed up on campaign promises or not
• His effect on the Judicial Branch/Supreme Court
• His decision making style
• His public speaking
• His management of the executive bureaucracy
• How he relates or does not relate to the American public
• His handling of the health care reform

You are not limited to these choices and if you have other ideas please e-mail them to me. The main point is that you should pick some specific aspect of his presidency so far. One great way to brainstorm would be to look through the NY Times interactive article about his first year to see some of the areas that they have discussed (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/04/us/politics/obama-first-year.html?hp).

Regardless of what topic you choose you should discuss the following questions in your paper.

1. What has President Obama tried to do so far relating to your topic of choice?
2. What has he accomplished/failed to accomplish?
3. What do you think this suggests about the future of the Obama presidency?

If you have any questions please let me know.