Objective: Explain how the different processes work in U.S. presidential elections.
Class Notes for the Day: |
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Starter: What percentage of Americans chose Trump and Clinton as their nominee for president in 2016?
1.How accurate was your prediction? (the answer is 9%)
2.How surprised are you by this information?
3.What is the big story this chart tells?
4.Why is it that only 9% of Americans chose the candidates that were our presidential nominees?
5.What is one consequence of the fact that the two leading presidential candidates were NOT selected by 91% of the people in this country?
6.Is this good news? 88 million eligible voters never vote, not even in presidential elections. Would we be better off if they did vote?
7.How democratic is our system for selecting candidates?
8.Explain one step we could take to make a better system for selecting presidential nominees.
Roles of the President
Words of the Day: GOP/progressives (definition 1 as a noun)
- Define it
- Provide an example
- Would someone calling themselves a progressive likely be a member of the GOP?
Candidate-Centered Campaigns
Modern presidential campaigns have become less about party and issues and more about the candidate. We obviously saw that with Trump and Clinton, but the 1988 and 1992 presidential races give us good examples to illustrate this.
After viewing, answer the following questions in small groups. Questions marked with an *asterisk* require discussion; for these questions, everybody must give their perspective before going on.
After viewing, answer the following questions in small groups. Questions marked with an *asterisk* require discussion; for these questions, everybody must give their perspective before going on.
1. Who were the two candidates for president in 1988 that participated in this debate?
2. What was the format of this debate (who asked the questions)?
3. What was the “killer question?”
4. *Was the question a fair one? Why or why not?*
5. *Did Dukakis answer this question well? Why or why not?*
6. *Was there a correct answer to the “killer question?”*
7. *Did Bernard Shaw want Dukakis to win or not? What is your evidence?*
8. *Why do you believe Bernard Shaw asked the “killer question?”*
9. *How would you describe this as an example to support the idea that campaigns have become more candidate centered?*
1. Who were the contestants for President in 1992?
2. What was the format of this debate? How did this differ from the format in 1988?
3. What was the question about?
4. *Was this a fair question? Why or why not?*
5. *How well did Bush answer this question? Support your answer.*
6. *How well did Clinton answer this question? Support your answer.*
7. *What mistake did Bush make? How bad of an error was it and why?*
8. *How would you describe this as an example to support the idea that campaigns have become more candidate centered?
Elections Review
As a group, complete the "word problems." You may use a calculator if needed. Just complete the front; we will do the scenarios on the back next class. When you finish, bring it up to Jacobson. You'll either get 100 or retry to fix any errors.
Closer: What is the best method we could use to determine the candidates from each party for the presidency?
- Make a claim here!
- Support your claim with TWO pieces of accurate and relevant information.
- Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim.
- Respond to an opposing or alternative perspective.