6. US Politics
Review the lecture which gives you hints how to answer this. It reviews sources as well as what exactly I mean in each part of the question. You should review the discussion questions, text, other lectures, and NYT to help you collect research on each question. Also, be sure to keep careful track of your sources with a full bibliography at the end of your essay–use a short version of your source in parentheses to show which part of your paper is connected to which source. (Heiser, Authoring Your Own Work Module)
1. Give me an overview of progress between the Congress and the President concerning the US national debt during this quarter. Be sure to start by telling me the exact size of the debt and deficit as of this week. Explain how Democrats and Republicans reached their policies based on the philosophies of the two parties (what are the main positions within each party and do these positions match the traditional philosophy of that party)? Explain how the party positions were impacted by interest groups in support of each policy (name and describe one interest group on each side of the issue) and voters in support of each policy (in other words, do both parties think they can gain middle class support from their policies?). Do you see any sign of media bias toward one policy or the other or has the media been neutral (give me a specific example from the NYT)? Do you think Congress has compromised too much on this issue (give me something specific)? Do you support the Republican or Democratic view on this issue? Why?
(You need to give me some overall information on the debt and deficit. Begin this question by reviewing the lecture/text on Democrats and Republicans (as well as debt and deficit) and the last few months of NYT articles. You will find most of the information in the NYT, but woven in through a series of articles. When I ask about political parties, I want you to tell me about splits within the party as well as the main focus of each party. When you cover interest groups, be sure to mention one specific important interest group which backed the democrats’ ideas and one which backed Republican ideas (two interest groups). On voters, give serious thought to which groups of voters each party wants to attract with its policy. As for media bias, be sure to site one specific example from the NYT from 2014. You can discuss pictures, word count, quotes, etc. You can use articles we discussed in our class discussions. When answering whether the Congress has compromised too much, be specific about comments/votes made by both parties in 2014.
Give all sources which you use at the end of each question and use PARENTHESES in your paper (with an author’s name or website) to show exactly which parts of your paper came from which sources. Use quotes if you take anything word for word but don’t use more than TWO quotes. This is YOUR analysis. I would rely mostly on the NYT and possibly the Washington Post.)
2. Analyze the foreign policy of the Obama administration in Syria OR Ukraine during the last two years. (You can substitute another country but ask for permission to do this). Would you describe Obama’s goals as internationalist or isolationist? Did you see media bias on Obama’s policy concerning Syria/Ukraine? Give me a specific example from the NYT to support your observation. Does Pres. Obama have the backing of his political party or of the Republicans? How would you rate Pres. Obama’s foreign policy to Syria/Ukraine on a scale of one to ten (one is low/ten is high)? Why (be very specific and compare it to foreign policy toward another country to back up your conclusion)?
Begin this question by reviewing the last several months of NYT articles. You will find overall information in the NYT, but woven in through a series of articles. Then reread the lecture on foreign policy as well as the final discussion question. I would use the NYT/ to learn about President Obama’s recent position on the foreign policy, but you can use the text to understand more about his overall foreign policy choices. While looking at the NYT, look for examples of bias in titles, selection of balanced sources, pictures, article length, etc. When discussing Obama’s success (or lack thereof) be very specific with examples from this quarter or further in the past illustrating your answer.
Use the instructions in question one to keep track of your sources.