The assigned article, " Radical in the White House ", by Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times was a article that touched on many ideas that I hope President Obama can live up to. I think the author recognizes that the time and space that the nation is in now is very grave and that the time is ripe for a leader that can bring about real change. He mentions leaders of the past such as Franklin Roosevelt(New Deal), John F. Kennedy(Civil Rights Movement), Lyndon Johnson(Civil Rights, Great Society Agenda) and how their presidencies were able to captivate a nation and lead us down a path that was beneficial for everyone and not one particular group. His audience with this article is simply every American. He calling for unity and support for a president that faces major crisis like the economy, health care, and the environment all issues that the decisions he makes will impact the nation for many years after he is out of office.
Mr. Friedman is a patriot, his love of America jumps off the page. He is also an optimistic realist. He understands that tough times are ahead and even tougher decisions are going to have to be made. Friedman knows that times for big change are few and far between and when they present themselves the must be meet head-on by a leader with the weight of a nation's backing. He is calling for all of us individually to do our part to help this nation out of this time of crisis, to take its cue from a charismatic leader who is not interested in the recent "status quo" political stance, which will get us back to our rightful place of world prominence.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Assignment #1 J.DeVoll
In the article “Radical in the White House” written by Thomas L. Friedman, he discusses the impact of our new president. The article appeared in the New York Times and was written to get the American people's attention on what changes need to take place with in the next four years,
The article was written for the American people, to show exactly what the title says, “Radical”. It is radical change to have an African American elected as president and with him, new and radical changes will take place in the country. President Obama has several changes that he would like to make to this country, changes that will hopefully make the United States better.
The article was written for the American people, to show exactly what the title says, “Radical”. It is radical change to have an African American elected as president and with him, new and radical changes will take place in the country. President Obama has several changes that he would like to make to this country, changes that will hopefully make the United States better.
Assignment #1 M. Thrift
This article was written by Thomas Friedman and appeared in the New York Times on January 21,2009. I believe this article was written because Friedman wanted to make a few points,and he made very good ones.It is a big deal that an African-American has been elected President,but as Friedman said "let this not be the last mold we break,let alone the last big mission we accomplish." This is a time when crucial and extremely important decisions must be made.America is dealing with very serious issues right now,and the right decisions must be made.When making decisions of this nature,a lot of thought has to be put in to them,and the President must think of the long-term effects as well as the short-term effects.
I think this article was written to all American citizens.The decisions that must be made affect everyone who lives in this country,and every American needs to be informed of these issues and the decisions made to resolve them.Every American also not only needs to be informed,but involved.It is important to be involved in politics because America is a country that allows it's Citizens to be involved in the decisions that are being made,and electing the people who will be making decisions.
I think this article was written to all American citizens.The decisions that must be made affect everyone who lives in this country,and every American needs to be informed of these issues and the decisions made to resolve them.Every American also not only needs to be informed,but involved.It is important to be involved in politics because America is a country that allows it's Citizens to be involved in the decisions that are being made,and electing the people who will be making decisions.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Assignment#1-M.Metcalf
I am not really sure what you mean by who wrote the article, it was written by Thomas Friedman— I think that a more insightful answer might be: a hopeful voter and citizen. The article most likely appeared nationally, he writes for The New York Times; and I occasionally see his work in the Rock Hill Herald. It was written so that he could inject his ideological point of view on others— again I think that the more insightful answer would be: a hopeful citizen, writing in an attempt to spread his optimism. I think that this article is directed toward two sections of society— an already sanguine or confident group of people and an already pessimistic group of people.
The basic argument that the author wants to make is that he hopes that President Obama will transform or “change” the country. The author expresses his belief that President Obama should take drastic measures and shake the foundation that America stands on for the betterment of all in this society. The author additionally implies that in a time of great need the government and specifically the presidency need to step up and lead the country back to prosperity.
The basic argument that the author wants to make is that he hopes that President Obama will transform or “change” the country. The author expresses his belief that President Obama should take drastic measures and shake the foundation that America stands on for the betterment of all in this society. The author additionally implies that in a time of great need the government and specifically the presidency need to step up and lead the country back to prosperity.
Assignment #1-TStephens
The article was written by Thomas L. Friedman. It was written for the New York Times in order to inform people about the new president and to show why we need someone as new and different as our new president.
I think that this article is directed more towards the younger audience and business men since they are the ones who it is impacting the most.
The basic argument is that we need something that is willing to break rules and get things done without worrying about the consequences first. He thinks that the new president will be able to change the things that are making our economy go astray in the first place.
I think that this article is directed more towards the younger audience and business men since they are the ones who it is impacting the most.
The basic argument is that we need something that is willing to break rules and get things done without worrying about the consequences first. He thinks that the new president will be able to change the things that are making our economy go astray in the first place.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Assignment #1-D.Duryee
This article, "Radical in the White House", was written by Thomas Friedman for The New York Times. He wrote this article directly after the inauguration of President Obama, and wrote it to all those people that were finally excited about seeing a politician take office that they believed in. He wrote this article to try and explain his viewpoint on what President Obama has to do to reverse the course of our nation.
The main argument that the author is trying to get across is that it is going to take radical action to undo what the previous administration has gotten our country into. Friedman points out that he doesn't believe that he should be more radical one way than the other just radical in his mindset and actions. He wants President Obama to make the hard decisions and actually act upon all the talk and rhetoric leading up to his election and subsequent inauguration. Friedman knows that it isn't going to be an easy task and not everything is going to magically turn for the better, but he hopes that the President is going to have the unique mindset to tackle the challenges he faces.
I liked this article because it hit on several key points that I think people have forgotten in all the excitement and celebration leading up to President Obama's inauguration. We as Americans have to come down from that celebratory high horse, about how we overcame the prejudices of the past and elected an African-American as our leader, and come back down to the reality that our country is in its worst state in almost a century. In this article Friedman pointed out that it is a monumental task that the President is taking on and we cannot sit back and think that he is going to fix everything on his own. It is going to take action by all citizens for us to pull out of this economic and social downward spiral. Many expect for President Obama to come in and put in place programs that are going to immediately change the direction of this country, but we need to realize that it is going to take many years, well beyond Obama's administration, to permanently change and fix what we have unknowingly broken. Friedman is also correct in his analysis that President Obama needs to "swing for the fences", but also to know how many fences he can swing for and how many at one time. We can put into motion a series of initiatives that can fix our ailing economy and the lack of a national healthcare system and fix social security and solve the unemployment problem and pull us out of foreign countries, but these things cannot all be done at once and they cannot all be done with quick results. We are in this for the long haul and we better get used to the fact that the world is changing quickly and if we don't take steps now we will be an antiquated country that will fall further and further behind the rest of the world, which will ultimately lead to our downfall.
David M. Duryee
The main argument that the author is trying to get across is that it is going to take radical action to undo what the previous administration has gotten our country into. Friedman points out that he doesn't believe that he should be more radical one way than the other just radical in his mindset and actions. He wants President Obama to make the hard decisions and actually act upon all the talk and rhetoric leading up to his election and subsequent inauguration. Friedman knows that it isn't going to be an easy task and not everything is going to magically turn for the better, but he hopes that the President is going to have the unique mindset to tackle the challenges he faces.
I liked this article because it hit on several key points that I think people have forgotten in all the excitement and celebration leading up to President Obama's inauguration. We as Americans have to come down from that celebratory high horse, about how we overcame the prejudices of the past and elected an African-American as our leader, and come back down to the reality that our country is in its worst state in almost a century. In this article Friedman pointed out that it is a monumental task that the President is taking on and we cannot sit back and think that he is going to fix everything on his own. It is going to take action by all citizens for us to pull out of this economic and social downward spiral. Many expect for President Obama to come in and put in place programs that are going to immediately change the direction of this country, but we need to realize that it is going to take many years, well beyond Obama's administration, to permanently change and fix what we have unknowingly broken. Friedman is also correct in his analysis that President Obama needs to "swing for the fences", but also to know how many fences he can swing for and how many at one time. We can put into motion a series of initiatives that can fix our ailing economy and the lack of a national healthcare system and fix social security and solve the unemployment problem and pull us out of foreign countries, but these things cannot all be done at once and they cannot all be done with quick results. We are in this for the long haul and we better get used to the fact that the world is changing quickly and if we don't take steps now we will be an antiquated country that will fall further and further behind the rest of the world, which will ultimately lead to our downfall.
David M. Duryee
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