Web Assignment: Note the seven kinds of activities in table 5.1 on p.145. Go to the White House Website (www.whitehouse.gov), and find specific activities or speeches that illustrate THREE of these activities. Describe in your own words how each one illustrates the activity listed in the text. Do NOT just paste something from the web page to your answer. It must be on your own words. Post it as a comment below this.
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I chose to use President Obama's Inaugural speech which probably illusrates the majority of these points. Granted, the speech is a few months old, but I was also curious to se what he had said and I wanted to make sure that he did cover these points in his speech. In the first part of the speech President Obama outlines some of the crisis facing our nation. He mentions the ongoing war and he mentions our economy, which are argueably the 2 main crisis that face our nation at this moment. Though in this speech he doesnt give a plan to solving the problems, he does assure the American people that they will be met. Later on Obama says "In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned." This is what the book refers to as symbolic and morale building leadership. He is reaffirming the fact that America is a great and powerful nation and will continue to be great with his leadership and our help. Obama also says later "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end." This refers to program implementation and evaluation. He says that in programs that work they will move forward and the ones that don't, we will end. In retrospect, the speech really was very good and hit on some important points that Americans need and want to hear. Overall, i felt that the speech was good, and insightful! --Adam Wise
ReplyDeleteThe first example I found is of priority setting and program design. It is one of President Obama's weekly addresses he usually broadcasts online on Saturday mornings. The title is "Health Care Reform as the Key to Our Fiscal Future". This is a great example of types of presidential activity because as the text states in times of national distress the American people often want their president to be "policy entrepreneurs". The second example is of recruitment leadership. This example also comes from one of President Obama's weekly addresses. It is titled "The Experience of Judge Sotomayor". Obama uses this address to let the American people know why he chose to nominate Judge Sotomayor, why she is qualified, and in turn assures citizens that he is capable of making sound appointment decisions. The third example I found is of symbolic and morale-building leadership. It comes from a speech given by President Obama at the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Moments and speeches like this are important because as the texts points out the presidency is a "focus for intense emotions". This activity shows that, among his many duties, the American president most certainly serves as a symbolic head of state.
ReplyDelete-Heath Wheat
Kemberly Merritt
ReplyDeleteJune 16, 2009
The first type of activity that catches my eye when I view the web page is “your Money at work. Recovery.gov.” The economic in the United States of America is a major crisis. The president is trying his best to find ways to help the United States of America pull the economy back in the place that it should be. This particular website allows view to see the different things that are being done to help with the economic crisis. The President of the United States began to work on this issue right after he was elected President he began to work on the economy although many people do not like what he is doing but this is a crisis, something must be done to make sure the economy doesn’t fall. The second type of activity is “Program Implementation and evaluation.” The President want to implement different programs to help people who are not able to get Health Care. The President wants people to have the opportunity to go the emergency room to get help, and not to worry about having health care. The president wants to make health care accessible for everyone in the United States of America. Not only will he help people that needs, but he will also help different business to give them some type of relief with the health care plan for it’s workers. This policy will take time to get approve but if he continues to work hard he will get it done. The third activity would be “symbolic and morale-building leadership.” The President decided to take a trip to Prague this year to give them a view of how we should try to decrease terrorists from nuclear weapons. President Obama feels very strongly that we should take action to make sure that this situation does not get out of hand, and should be contained before it is too late. This builds him as a leader to negotiate issues with other leaders.
First, I touch base on program implementation and evaluation. President Obama is making amends to restore fairness to our tax system. In years past, merely the wealthy had benefited from our system. Now, President Obama will do away with those loopholes to ensure that everyone pays their fare share.
ReplyDeleteAs far as priority setting and program design are concerned, progress is being made via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This invests in education for both now and in the future. President Obama has stressed time and time again the importance of education and strives to provide each and every child with a great education.
Finally, recruitment leadership. Early in the year, President Obama made many nominations and appointments as he seen fit. He chose many people from all walks of life and explained his decisions to the public as well in some instances.
-Michael Baltzegar
The three types of activities that I choose to discuss are Priority Setting and Program Design, Legislative and Political Coalition building, Program Implementation and Evaulation. The "Road to Recovery" or the Recovery Act covers the activity of Priority Setting and Program Design. This Act will "create new jobs and improve the nation's infrastructure". This Act, which is a fresh new program, will help to turn our country around and hopefully make us once agian leaders. It also goes well with this activity because it works with unemployment, bringing jobs to many people. The next activity is Program implementation and evaluation. The article I found to go with this activity deals with education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In this activity there is improvement in the quality of education which is a very important subject in our country because without education you have nothing. This act will not only provide jobs but it will also strengthen the education standards in school's across the country enabling children to have the education they deserve. The last activity is Legislative and political coalition building in which I found an article that deals with tax cuts that is also found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This will once again make jobs and bring the US out of its economic struggle. Obama plans on "bringing fairness to the tax system" therefore allowing the US to get out of debt and for families to recieve a tax break. I think that all of these activities are very important in improving our country. I think that Obama has obviously started to work on these right away in his few months in office. I think he is trying to improve our country one step at a time and is creating and criticing new programs to fix our problems.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things President Obama did was take a trip to the middle East. He made speeches in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and bypassed Israel. This was a clear symbolic excursion which seemed to set a new approach to the region and the Muslim community, in an attempt to unify, at least politically, the region as a whole. Second, his recent legislation such as the Small business Act, Save the Homes Act and most recently, the CARD Act are all clear Priority setting maneuvers. This could also be viewed as Crisis Management given our current economic hardships. The third type of activity Obama has partaken in is Recruitment Leadership, as shown by his much talked about appointment of Liberal minded Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Clearly this "recruitment" technique was used to diversify and balance the High Court.
ReplyDeleteAdamson
President Obama illustrates symbolic and morale building leadership by extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees as well as finally ending the ban on openly gay men and women in the military. This is a good example of governing coalition and electoral coalition.
ReplyDeleteProgram implementation and evaluation is demonstrated with the outline Obama has done saying we can save $313 Billion in health-care savings if we work with the price of the medicine and make sure more Americans are insured.
Crisis management is being shown currently with the everchanging gas prices. President Obama is currently looking for unknown places for oil and is constantly trying to lower the price of oil. It is getting higher everyday but he is working on policies and agreements dealing with the oil.
KaLa Roberts
Adam is right – one can find a lot of things illustrated in the inaugural address. But I would have preferred something more current in day to day activities.
ReplyDeleteAh – all Heath’s examples were both current and perfect illustrations! Nice work! Health care is #1 right now; Sotomayor certainly is recruitment; and D-Day was about as symbolic as one can get!
Kemberly’s examples also work, though the recovery.gov website was farmed out to the VP and staff and is not really a specific activity that Obama is engaged in on a particular day.
Michael’s examples work, but they could be more specific.
Ashlynn’s examples also work, but they are programs covered on the website, not really presidential activities, like a specific speech or announcement, like his Presidential Memo released yesterday about extending some limited benefits to gay couples in government employment—a move that was less than meets the eye since the most important benefit was left out, health insurance. This one will arouse anger from both the anti-gay rights groups and from gays for being so little.
Yea! Corey Adamson has finally joined the discussion! Welcome! His examples work pretty well, especially the first and last which were specific presidential activities!
Kala mentions the gay couples benefits announcement, but she is wrong about changing policy about gays in the military—nothing has been done there yet—and this has angered gays. The explanation is that he does not want to get bogged down in this fight while he is working on the economy and now health care. Clinton spend nearly a year in that impossible fight. The Health care fight is the top priority now, though a specific activity would have been nice. The stuff on lowering gas prices is certainly not something he has been talking about very much if at all. The emphasis is on finding alternative fuels, but even that is not a later priority right now.
Many of you confused activities with general promises that are on the website, much of which may happen later – I should have made what I wanted you to look at more clear. I was looking at how Obama spends his time—that is how you tell symbolic things from high priority things! But all get credit for the effort. Bob B