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This is for yhtomit only.
Response one pol-02
this week’s lesson was discussing the many categories scholars and historians may use to classify the type of President or level of successes a President may or may not have while in office. The lesson presented Paul Quirk’s model for measuring Presidential success which contain three categories; the self-reliant, the minimalist, and the strategic competence model1. The self-reliant president is described as one that owns the majority of the responsibility solely, involved in almost every decision, little to no delegation1. This model of presidency, in my opinion, would be more likely to succeed in the early years of our nation, when things were not as complicated and fast paced as today. Today there are so many things in motion, from domestic to foreign policy, national security and defense, national economic and global economics, it would be impossible to be successful if a President did not delegate these tasks out and reserve the most sensitive and important topics to a more “hands on approach”.
To me this model would fit a Presidency like FDR, as pointed out in our lesson. FDR was personally invested in almost every major event during his Presidency, from the War to the New Deal. The second model illustrated in our lesson this week is the minimalist model; in contrast with the self-reliant model, a more “hands off” and delegating role1. This is an interesting model category because it makes it seem as though the President has a care free attitude. In my opinion it all depends on the maturity and capabilities of the team you have around you if you can delegate a majority of the responsibility. If you have a young, inexperienced team delegating much of the work with no guidance or coaching could spell a disaster. On the other hand, if you have a seasoned, well credentialed and respected team, the consequences of not delegating responsibility may lead to morale issues as the President (or leader/boss) may be casted as a micro-manager. So for me it all comes down to the makeup of your team, the strengths and weaknesses. The lesson offers that this model is reflective of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, but I also think an argument could be made to place Barack Obama in this model as well as the next the model, the strategic competence model. This model is characterized as relying on a team around you to be advisors and assisting with making intelligent choices1. I also think this model applies to Barack Obama since he was characterized as being a transactional leader2 which helped him mitigate through the economic crisis and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama clearly relied on advisement and gathered information and data before making informed decisions. After looking at all three models, I believe to be a successful President the person must have a little bit of all three and the ability to adapt to the situation and team around you. The other factor that was mentioned in this week’s lesson is the political atmosphere at the time of a Presidency; which party has control of the Congress. That alone can make or break a Presidency.
1. Eric Grulke, “Week 2: Models of Presidential Leadership.” American Military Uniiversity, Accessed January 8, 2018. https://edge.apus.edu/portal/site/366584/tool/ac046166-37b2-492d-8e6e-b208146732e9/ShowPage?returnView=&studentItemId=0&backPath=&errorMessage=&clearAttr=&source=&title=&sendingPage=1493983&newTopLevel=false&postedComment=false&addBefore=&itemId=4284550&path=push&addTool=-1&recheck=&id=
2. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., “Presidential Leadership and U.S. Foreign Policy,” Brown Journal of World Affairs 20, no. 1 (November 2013): , http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1513212155?accountid=8289.
References
Grulke, Eric, “Week 2: Models of Presidential Leadership,” American Military University, accessed January 8, 2018,
https://edge.apus.edu/portal/site/366584/tool/ac046166-37b2-492d-
8e6e-b208146732e9/ShowPage?returnView=&studentItemId=0&backPath=&errorMessage=&clearAttr=&source=&title=&sendingPage=1493983&newTopLevel=false&postedComment=false&addBefore=&itemId=4284550&path=push&addTool=-1&recheck=&id=
Response two-po2-02
The qualities and characteristics which determine the effectiveness of presidential leadership have been evaluated by a large number of scholars throughout history, yet there are still no specific variables which indicate how effective a president will be. Rating a president has become an extremely complicated process, various scholars all presenting different tools and criteria which they believe is the best measure of judgment. Presidents bring a wide variety of experience and intellect, making it incredibly important to understand the evaluation process.
Quirk (1990) depicts three models which help to determine presidential success: the self-reliant presidency, the minimalist presidency, and the strategic competence model. Jimmy Carter was considered to be a self-reliant president, he wanted to be thoroughly involved in every aspect of the presidency, even going as far as to check the arithmetic in budget documents (Quirk 1990, 166). Unfortunately Carter’s attention to detail only contributed to the quality of his administration at a very marginal level, taking his attention away from much more essential tasks (Quirk 1990, 166). This type of presidency “can lead to an obsessive narrowness, and it is too far removed from reality to offer concrete guidance” (Quirk 1990, 166).
Quirk’s (1990) minimalist presidency model depicts a president which has very little understanding of political issues or problems and relies heavily on subordinates, the most recent president being Ronald Reagan (Quirk 1990, 167). Reagan’s presidency was very similar to the chairman of the board, in which he would develop overall guidelines which would be accomplished by like-minded, elected individuals (Quirk 1990, 167). This model of presidency holds an exorbitant amount of issues, the president’s cabinet can never make up for the deficiencies of the president and the president is constantly unable to meet the demands of a dynamic political system.
Quirk’s (1990, 170) third model, strategic competence, lies between the two extremes of a self-reliant presidency and a minimalist presidency. A president does not need to know everything, yet must be able to make positive, effective decisions and delegate efficiently (Quirk 1990, 170). A president’s time and attention is a scarce resource which must be allocated appropriately in order to create the best possible outcome. George Bush was considered to be a president that encompassed the strategic competence model, he was vastly educated in political policy and was able to make important decisions without the help of subordinates or cues (Quirk 1990, 181).
The three models presented by Quirk indicate a variety of positive and negative qualities which can lead to a successful presidency, yet there is no perfect model and therefore no specific way of identifying the best form of evaluation. “It must be acknowledged that judging the most effective or successful presidents is a daunting task”, there are no key variables which point to presidential success (Goethals 2005, 566). Success is different to various individuals or political scholars and can be considered to be in the “eye of the beholder”, each person judging different qualities or characteristics and considering them to be most important or holding the most weight (Goethals 2005, 566).
Individual presidents can be very influential, yet much of what they do and how they approach the presidency depends on the political climate during the historical time which they are serving. A variety of strategies are at a president’s disposal, some of which help to address specific issues and others that are used to create a distraction from key issues. Furthermore, “leaders may perceive the same structural environment in very different ways and differ in their attitudes towards risks and potential payoffs” (Keller and Foster 2012, 594). There is no perfect way to establish what makes a president successful or how he/she will make decisions on important issues, the best remedy seems to be evaluating past presidents to create a better template for future candidates.
Works Cited
Goethals, George R. “Presidential Leadership”. Annual Review of Psychology 56 (2005): 545-570. Accessed January 11, 2018.
http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/205849702?accountid=8289
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Keller, Jonathan and Dennis Foster. “Presidential Leadership Style and the Political Use of Force”. Political Psychology 33, no. 5 (2012): 581-598. Accessed January 11, 2018. http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=80125511 &site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Quirk, Paul J. “Presidential Competence”. In The Presidency and the Political System, edited by Michael Nelson, 163-187. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1990. Accessed January 11, 2018.
https://archive.org/stream/presidencypoliti00nels#page/n3/mode/2up
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Comments: This is a proposal the topic is fine ( add 10 two pages on this topic by choosing one state) you also may wish to stay with one state to make the project more doable since policy is different in every state. However, the topic is fine.
GUN CONTROL IN AMERICA
Gun control issue has attracted mixed reactions from the American citizens and also legislatures. Stirred by a continuous of mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings, the debate over gun control in America has been waxing and waning over the years (Lee, 2016). There have been increased deaths of innocent people and the more they take place the high the issue intensity, and on the evening news violence is frequently in the lead. Attributing it variously to talk radio impacts, sole issue politics, a loss of society, the faith erosion, or just plain bad manners, many people today point to a general fall in the level of our civil discourse. Its solution can be located in the middle of the dilemma regardless of whatever its causes; the talks cannot stop just because they are rude and pathetic in a way and such translates motive. The issue of gun control is rich in content and is connected to other disciplines.
Gun control is problem in the United States and as a result, it is no longer about liking or not liking guns neither is it about liking or not liking power (Gabor, 2016). It needs to be about control effectiveness judgment and to be appropriate state control as implemented and exercised through regulation. It is a problem because in America gun ownership surpasses other nations, and the current mass killings, particularly have increased comparison with laws and regulations abroad. The assassinations of prominent and famous individuals in America led to the response and recent federal policy in this context is marked by Gun Control Act of 1968. There are those people who oppose gun control measures and present the argument that there exist about twenty thousand gun regulations in America, and that, as there is the passage of more laws, increased gun violence takes place. But it is important to look at the issue from a positive side since these are high state and domestic legislation with limited effect, and that with their absence the incidents level would even be greater.
The use of guns in self-defense is another area of dispute. It means that gun control opponents relate to research that state guns are in use up to 2.4 million times annually for protection (Wilson, 2016). However, those who support the concept argue that the number might be overrated. It is hard to implement the gun control while the United States keeps on granting gun ownership to the people. Homes get broken into, and when the criminals get hold of the weapon, they will use it to benefit themselves with no probable cause. It means that the gun control need to start with gun regulation and control and this will be achieved through banning ownership and reclaiming already distributed back.
According to Swiss-based small army research report, America with less than five percent of the global population bears about thirty to fifty percent of the global citizens owned guns. Analysts have argued that the statistics present do not primarily take a cause-and-impact correlation; America tops the list of countries with the greatest homicide-by-weapon rate among the global developed countries (Karimu, 2015). Gun control issue is of great significance because its discussion and focus will determine the best way set targets can be met and how the initiatives need to be developed and implemented. In that case, gun control is a topic with relevance and requires in-depth analysis to determine the strategies, recommendations, pros and cons among others.
References
Karimu, O. O. (2015). The two sides of gun legislation and control debate in United States of America. European Scientific Journal, 400.
Gabor, T. (2016). Confronting Gun Violence in America. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Wilson, H. L. (2016). Gun Politics in America: Historical and Modern Documents in Context [2 Volumes]: Historical and Modern Documents in Context. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Lee, M. A. (2016). Gun Control: Overview. Salem Press Encyclopedia,
