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professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in
fandomhigh2006-09-20 10:41 am
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American Political Campaigning (Wednesday, Sept. 20, 1st period)
Josh propped the door open so that he could keep an eye on the Student Council elections taking place in the hallway, then finally turned his attention to the three students in his classroom.
He smiled. "Okay. Today we talk about message. This is the campaign strategy--what we talked about last week--essentially boiled down to about a paragraph. It's why you should be elected and the other guy shouldn't be. It's what you use as your guideline to see if you should talk about an issue--does it fit in with our message? If it doesn't and you address it, you've gone off-message and you're wasting time."
He cleared his throat. "Speaking of time, Clarence, how many days do we have until Election Day--national election, not Student Council?" He waited for his response, then continued with his lecture. "Your message should be tailored to address the issues of the voters you need to win--the persuadable voters from the other sides, the undecideds in the middle of the road, and the soft supporters you have from your own party who need incentive to go out and vote."
He turned on a television he'd brought into the classroom. "This is an excerpt from John F. Kennedy's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1960. This is about as good an example of a message statement as has ever been written."
He pushed play. "...That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice that our nation must make--a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort, between national greatness and national decline, between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of normalcy, between dedication and mediocrity..." Josh turned off the video. "Compare and contrast. Really great language helps, too, but the specific wording of the message isn't necessarily something you share outside of the campaign." He looked around the room. "But the message itself must be something that the voters understand clearly, or they won't vote for you. The message, if you do it right, is what will get them to vote for you and not for the other guy."
He passed out a handout. "Okay, today's work is easy. Imagine you are running for office." He grinned at Eric and Isabel. "Which shouldn't be too difficult for two of you. Fill in the following sentences with words you think best describe you and your opponent. Poof, instant message. Questions? Problems? Talk with your classmates or shout 'em out."
He sat down and cracked open a can of Caf-Pow like Abby had recommended. This was probably not going to bode well for his fourth period class.
He smiled. "Okay. Today we talk about message. This is the campaign strategy--what we talked about last week--essentially boiled down to about a paragraph. It's why you should be elected and the other guy shouldn't be. It's what you use as your guideline to see if you should talk about an issue--does it fit in with our message? If it doesn't and you address it, you've gone off-message and you're wasting time."
He cleared his throat. "Speaking of time, Clarence, how many days do we have until Election Day--national election, not Student Council?" He waited for his response, then continued with his lecture. "Your message should be tailored to address the issues of the voters you need to win--the persuadable voters from the other sides, the undecideds in the middle of the road, and the soft supporters you have from your own party who need incentive to go out and vote."
He turned on a television he'd brought into the classroom. "This is an excerpt from John F. Kennedy's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1960. This is about as good an example of a message statement as has ever been written."
He pushed play. "...That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice that our nation must make--a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort, between national greatness and national decline, between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of normalcy, between dedication and mediocrity..." Josh turned off the video. "Compare and contrast. Really great language helps, too, but the specific wording of the message isn't necessarily something you share outside of the campaign." He looked around the room. "But the message itself must be something that the voters understand clearly, or they won't vote for you. The message, if you do it right, is what will get them to vote for you and not for the other guy."
He passed out a handout. "Okay, today's work is easy. Imagine you are running for office." He grinned at Eric and Isabel. "Which shouldn't be too difficult for two of you. Fill in the following sentences with words you think best describe you and your opponent. Poof, instant message. Questions? Problems? Talk with your classmates or shout 'em out."
He sat down and cracked open a can of Caf-Pow like Abby had recommended. This was probably not going to bode well for his fourth period class.

Sign in (Sept. 20, APC)
Listen to the lecture
Work on your message
You can add them.
Talk to Josh
OOC
Re: OOC
Re: OOC
Re: Sign in (Sept. 20, APC)
Re: Listen to the lecture
Re: Work on your message
Re: Work on your message
Re: Sign in (Sept. 20, APC)
Re: Listen to the lecture
Really he should know better.
Re: Work on your message
Re: Work on your message
Marty might be having a little too much fun today.
Re: Listen to the lecture
Re: Work on your message
Re: Work on your message
Re: Sign in (Sept. 20, APC)
Re: Work on your message
Re: Work on your message
Re: Listen to the lecture
Re: Work on your message
Re: Work on your message
TuesdayWednesday, I want you to keep one thing in mind. The differences between us couldn't be clearer. You can vote for the party/candidate of vision or the party/candidate of rhetoric, symbols, and photo ops. When you close the curtain in the voting booth -- when you see the name Eric Weiss -- remember that it stands for progress and not reactionary weirdness. I think what we need is more world-class dedication and a lot less bureaucracy. That's what this election is about; that's what you are going to decide."Re: Work on your message
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Re: Work on your message