Political Campaigning (Thursday, January 26, 4th period)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh put down the article he was reading about Hamas winning the election in Palestine when the campaign class came into the room.

He sighed. "Okay. First of all, please put your message grids and campaign strategies into my inbox. Today we talk about message. This is the campaign strategy 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, Elizabeth, how many days do we have until Election Day?" He waited for her 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. Start it in class, finish it up for next week. Fill in the following sentences with words you think best describe your candidate and your opponent. Poof, instant message. Each of you work on one individually, then your groups will discuss which one you think is most effective next week." He looked at the group. "And with Jessica leaving school, Donna has graciously volunteered to shift back and forth between the Morrison and Tester groups to make sure that no one is completely overwhelmed." Josh smiled at Angel. "Thanks."

He sat back down at his desk and waited for group discussions to begin. He's pretty distracted by the news out of Palestine, and probably won't notice if groups aren't really discussing politics today.

Comments

Sign in (January 26)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

...

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth signed in

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[courier-gavin.livejournal.com]

Jake signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Callisto signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[fh_jackass]

Logan signed in.

Re: Sign in (January 26)

[threeweapons.livejournal.com]

Alanna signed in.

During the lecture

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

...

Re: During the lecture

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

As Josh talked, Angel sat quietly at his desk. His face still bore clawmarks on the cheek. When he moved he moved with even more pain around his ribs than he'd shown in ACJ earlier that day.

His right hand was also sporting a white bandage that looked awfully like a hankerchef.

To say he was more stoic than usual was a huge understatement.

Re: During the lecture

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"279," she replied promptly.

Re: During the lecture

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Something I have to say before we get started, Mr. Lyman." And wow, you'd think this would get easier. Parker stood up, smiled at the class, gritted her teeth, and said, "I love Principal Smith." After a second, she felt compelled to add, "As an administrator and a role model. Yup. Just not as much as Principal SpyDaddy. Woe! Just had to get that out there."

Group work: Callisto, Jake, Parker

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Still need to talk strategy or message grids? Here's the place to do it.

Re: Group work: Callisto, Jake, Parker

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker was laying out her message grid, head down, hair in her face, hoping they could just *do* this without it taking too long.

Group work: Rory & Alanna

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Still need to talk strategy or message grids? Here's the place to do it.

Re: Group work: Rory & Alanna

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory anxiously tapped her pen against her desk as she waited for Alanna.

Group work: Logan, Elizabeth, Angel

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Still need to talk strategy or message grids? Here's the place to do it.

Re: Group work: Logan, Elizabeth, Angel

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel's there. He's quiet, but he's there.

Homework

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

The message. What makes your guy so much better than the other guy?

Re: Homework

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

When you go to vote next Tuesday, I want you to keep one thing in mind. The differences between us couldn't be clearer. You can vote for the candidate of proven ideas or the party/candidate of uncertainity. When you close the curtain in the voting booth--when you see the name Burns--remember that it stands for dedication and not the easy way out. I think what we need is more getting work done and a lot less bureaucracy. That's what this election is about; that's what you are going to decide.

Re: Homework

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

When you go to vote next Tuesday, I want you to keep one thing in mind. The differences between us couldn't be clearer. You can vote for the candidate of the future or the candidate of who's trapped in the past. When you close the curtain in the voting booth--when you see the name Bob Tester --remember that it stands for honesty and not corruption. I think what we need(s) is more willingness to fight for the rights of Montanans and a lot less playing in the Washignton sandpit. That's what this election is about; that's what you are going to decide.

After class...

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

...

Re: After class...

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker waited to talk to Angel. And tried not to look embarassed in front of Professor Lyman.

OOC

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

...

Re: OOC

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

[ooc: Off to class, back in a few hours.]