One thing that I truly appreciated is that each of you had far more knowledge about the presidency than I had anticipated at the start of the semester. I was both surprised and impressed with how much you knew and the faith and trust that you continue to feel toward the presidency. Don’t get me wrong, you all clearly have a sense for the fact that our modern political culture is ill. Nevertheless, I repeatedly heard, from you, a sense of optimism that there was a way forward if only our political leaders chose to see and follow that path.

Let’s all hope that our optimism is well placed.

Have a very happy holiday and a wonderful break. Look me up when you’re back on campus.

Kirt

His team is losing, losing badly, but not because its doesn’t have the talent. The team is getting run over, because the players won’t run the plays the coach is calling. They would rather run their own plays or argue with each other. The quarterback is angry, because he’s been sacked 5 times. The wide-receivers are complaining because they are running these magical routes, but the QB won’t throw them the ball. The defense is surly, because it gets no respect from the team or from the opposition. But what is really holding the team back is one simple fact–everyone hates the coach.

The coach is new; he wasn’t around last season, and there are a lot of rumors among the parents about he got the job he has now. The team doesn’t trust him, doesn’t respect him. The coach doesn’t understand the team or its traditions. He doesn’t understand what the players and parents want. His plays are too complicated and his strategy is too long term. The small community that has supported this team for decades expects to see big wins, and the town folk don’t care for the coach’s statement in the local newspaper that the team is facing hard times that require change, compromise, and sacrifice. A couple of the players, not first-stringers mind you, decided to attend a party rather than show up for the evening’s game.

So there’s the coach, standing in the middle of a sweaty locker room (didn’t it look hot in the chamber last night?), giving it his level best to motivate the team to victory. His stern voice praises the players for their potential, but he is clearly frustrated and angry. He tells them that it isn’t too late, that they can turn the game around if only they follow his game-plan now. He reminds the team of its storied history, that it has seen difficult times before but always overcome them. He rehearses their best plays, plays that they have been practicing for weeks and points out, again, that some of these plays were developed not by him but by the players themselves. They are good plays, he insists, but they won’t work unless everyone comes together and starts pulling in the same direction.

“The opposing team is good,” he says, “but we are better.” “Time is running out, but there is still enough time to win.” He concludes, “These are difficult years for our program.  But we are Titans!  We are tougher than the times we live in, and we are bigger than our problems have been.  So let’s meet the moment.  Let’s get to work, and let’s show this community once again why our town is the greatest town in this state!”

Stirring stuff. Is it enough? Will the team pull together and make the second half look like a summer blockbuster movie? Probably not. This is Washington DC and not Hollywood, after all. On this team it isn’t just that the players don’t care for their coach. The more important factor is that each player secretly believes that he or she should be the coach.

On Friday the Labor Department declared that the economy showed no job growth in August. According to the New York Times, this is the first time in 11 months that there hasn’t been an increase in net jobs. The NYTimes article stated further, that there is “a consensus among economists that the United States will skirt a double-dip recession,” but that “‘We’ve got at least another 12 months of difficulty to go through.’”

For a sitting president this is bad news. Despite the claims of the Times, some economists are suggesting that we might be headed back to a second recession. For a sitting president who will spend a lot of time campaigning over the next 12 months, this is horrible news.

The blog Talking Points Memo was quick to illustrate the problem. They quoted presidential candidate Jon Huntsman’s take on the job numbers: “There is no clearer sign that the President has failed.” Mitt Romney declared, “Today’s disappointing unemployment report is further proof that President Obama has failed.”

One question, of course, is “how did things get so bad”? Romney, Huntsman, and critics of the administration will argue that the problem is leadership or, more to the point, Obama’s lack of leadership. Liberals and a few economists will argue that the problem is inappropriate policies; that is, we debated deficits and started cutting government spending at precisely the moment when we needed to either continue or add more stimulus. Paul Krugman argues that fiscal austerity was wrong for the UK and it is wrong for the United States right now, because it will result in more layoffs and job loss not less.

What is interesting about both of these arguments is that President Obama doesn’t do well regardless of which you believe. In the first instance, Obama is to blame because he hasn’t solved the economic problem. In the second instance, Obama is to blame because he compromised with conservatives and agreed to austerity measures that are now putting the recovery in doubt.

So what is a president to do?

Good question; I don’t know. This may be one of those moments when words and adventurous policy need to come together in new and creative way. The President can’t afford to simply hold up in his office, making phone calls and developing a new economic plan. At the same time, he can’t continue doing what he and others have done over the past six months. What was a slow but steady climb out of the cellar is now looking more and more like a stalled plane either gliding or, heaven forbid, in free fall. Regardless, Friday’s numbers are important not only for what they say about the economy but also because they signal that we are at a true stasis moment. What comes next is going to matter a great deal.

Made popular by USA Today, these cute charts combine statistics, text, bold fonts, and images to explain complex issues in “simple” terms. The White House is interested infographics. It just created the one below to help explain why the judicial confirmation process is broken. The White House wants folks to believe that while the confirmation process always has been political, it is now obstructionist to an unprecedented degree. The last (bottom) panel is particularly interesting: “The Consequences for America.”

What do you think?

Christi Parsons, writing for the LA Times, offers a fascinating account of how one important speech came into existence. Her analysis of Obama’s Cairo speech is worth reading. After you’ve read her 3 page essay, you might want to view the address below.

Obama received mixed reviews for his response to the tornados that devastated wide sections of the United States in May of 2011. Critics argued that he didn’t respond quickly enough, although he was in the UK when some of the worst tornados hit. Officials in states impacted by the tornados reported that the administration and FEMA had been helpful. Eventually the President flew to the damaged areas, gave several speeches, and comforted those who had lost loved ones. His speech at the memorial service held on the Missouri Southern University campus, was, I thought, especially good.

President Barack Obama hugs a woman who lost a loved one, during the memorial service for victims of the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, May 29, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Now the eastern seaboard is facing a major hurricane and predictions of its potential impact are worrisome, especially if it hits New York City. Hurricanes, as President George W. Bush learned, can be very tricky phenomena to handle.

Next week may become an important week in presidential communication. If Hurricane Irene damages significant parts of the country, then the President will have to respond. Personally, I’m hoping that the President will not have much to say, because the loss of life was zero and property damage was minimal. I guess we’ll wait and see.

The White House and the national media always have had a symbiotic relationship. The White House relies on journalists to get its messages to the American public; simultaneously, the media and press use the White House to fill air time and newspaper copy. Even when a president is “fighting” with the media, the two entities are intertwined in very deep ways. Put it this way, whenever you hear a president or a politician rail against the media, understand that that same politician needs and uses the media almost daily. Whenever you hear a reporter talking about his/her duty as the watchdog of power, remember that her/his access is predicated on a relationship to power that must be cultivated and maintained.

CNN, in an attempt to ride the new media wave, has a program called iReport where citizens videotape themselves doing news stories, and CNN puts the reports online. You get a little exposure, and they get news without having to do much work. Anyway, recently CNN pushed the video created by some of their iReporters directly at the White House, and, believe it or not, the White House is responding. CNN is “curating” the conversation, of course, but how much longer will that last? Could CNN be cut out of the loop altogether, and, if so, what does that do to the traditional relationship between the media and the president?

 Image from the White House Flickr Stream. Click the mage to see details about the photograph.

• How effective is this video in explaining the financial crisis of of 2008?
• What do you think about the music that this video uses? Did you notice how the music changed at around minute 2? Why this shift?
• How persuasive is this video? What issues are left “unsaid” by the video?