POL S 299 Special Topics: The 2008 Presidential Election

This class is a special topics, American Politics class, focusing on the 2008 Presidential Primary Election cycle. We will focus closely on every primary election and caucus and assess how each candidate did, what they did right, what they did wrong, and how each campaign changes over the weeks. The first day of class, January 8th is the first primary election (New Hampshire) and by the time this class is over in mid-March, the Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates will be decided. Unlike other classes, we will be watching and learning about events in real time, as they unfold. Over the next 10 weeks the candidates will campaign vigorously in over 30 states to try and gather enough delegates to win their party’s nomination. For this reason, class and section attendance is very important.

There is only one text book for the class, and your main reading assignment will be to read the daily news stories about each presidential candidate. At a minimum, you will be expected to read roughly 5-10 news stories EVERY DAY from four national newspapers. If you do not keep up with the daily news readings, you will not do well in this class. On the other hand, if you read everything you can about the presidential candidates and the primary elections you will probably do very well.

Readings:

Each week there will be required from course text books, from four major national newspapers, and from two online blogs. You are expected to read the newspaper and blog articles Mon – Sun. The complete, week-by-week reading list is also posted on the course website.

Books:
Nelson Polsby and Aaron Wildavsky. Presidential Elections. 12th ed. Rowman & Littlefield. 2008.
Reader: Daniel M. Shea and Bryan Reece. 2008 Election Preview. Prentice Hall. 2008

Newspapers:
www.washingtonpost.com
www.wallstreetjournal.com
www.newyorktimes.com
www.usatoday.com

Blogs:
campaignspot.nationalreview.com
www.dailykos.com

Grading:

Weekly news summary		10 points
Section grade			20 points
Candidate project			40 points
Final Exam			30 points
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TOTAL				100 points


GPA Point Scale

Throughout the quarter, there will be opportunities to attend various events, talks, and symposiums on campus that are related to the Presidential election or American politics in general which will count for small, but important, extra credit points. You must get approval from your TA or from the Professor before an extra credit opportunity. You will be required to write up a one-page summary of the event and turn it in within one week.

Assignments

Weekly News Summary. Each week you will turn in a one-page single-spaced summary of the major campaign news items for that week. The summary will be due in section on Friday, and should cover news from the Saturday – Friday week.

Section Grade. Your section grade will consist of a combination of participation, discussion, quizzes, and working on the candidate project. Section attendance is very important on both Wednesday and Friday of each week.

Candidate Project. Starting on January 10th, you will be assigned to a campaign team with 5 or 6 students, for one of the presidential candidates. You will analyze and also advise your candidate on the road to the presidency in the areas of press, strategy, fund raising, advertising, polling, and policy.

Final Exam. The final exam will be administered during finals week and will cover the specifics of the 2008 presidential primary elections, as well as some general knowledge subjects on presidential caucuses, primaries, conventions, etc. The final will be a mix of multiple choice, short answer, and essay and is worth 30% of your final grade.

2008 Primary Election Calendar, Jan-Mar:
January 3	Iowa
January 5	Wyoming (GOP)
January 8	New Hampshire
January 15	Michigan
January 19	Nevada / South Carolina (GOP)
January 26	South Carolina (DEM)
January 29	Florida


February 1	Maine (GOP)
February 5	California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, 
		Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, 
		Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, Delaware, Idaho, North Dakota, Montana, 
		Alaska, Massachusetts, West Virginia
February 9	Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington caucus, Kansas (GOP)
February 10	Maine caucus (DEM)
February 12	D.C., Maryland, Virginia
February 19	Washington, Wisconsin, Hawaii


March 4		Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont
March 8		Wyoming (DEM)
March 11	Mississippi