Chapter 12 Blog

     To be president, one must not only be great but have the potential and initiative to do great things for a country. He or she must keep in mind what is best for the whole country and not be afraid to make brash decisions when they come about. A president should be strong-willed, very involved with the people of the country, and know when to step it up and take control, without stepping on the toes of our rights.

     I truly think that John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt were both great presidents. Both men did things to create a better America in the sense of concentrating on our citizens and revamping the economy. Kennedy was a huge advocate of the people’s rights, always wanting to help the communities. Roosevelt was a strong leader during an extremely difficult period for the U.S. known as the Great Depression.

     After a bit of research on Millard Fillmore, I learned that he was a member of the Whig party and only served part of a term as president. Because Fillmore supported the Compromise of 1850, his party was not nominated in 1852 and his party was split into two. I believe that Fillmore made an okay president because he became largely unpopular but still stood by what he thought to be right for the country during a time when slavery was still acceptable.

Chapter 11 Blog

      Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander are the Senators for Tennessee. The Congressmen for Tennessee are: Diane Black, Steve Cohen, Phil Roe, Marsha Blackburn, Jim Cooper, Scott DesJarlais, Jimmy Duncan Jr., Stephen Fincher, and Chuck Fleischmann

     I did some research on Steve Cohen and I was really pleased with some of the information I found. He is a huge advocate of people’s rights. Cohen has even won awards for his work in helping against domestic violence, legal representation for those in need, etc. I support the rights of the American citizens because we as a whole are vital to our country. A country cannot function as a democracy without supportive citizens and Cohen keeps the government from stepping on the toes of our rights therefore keeping us content.

    Reading up on Jim Cooper’s ideas about spending cuts left a bad taste in my mouth. Not only does he want to cut back on the Medicaid and Social Security funds, but there is also talk of tax increases that he would like to implement. Although I do agree the country's spending has gotten out of hand, I don’t think he is choosing the right places to cut funds from.

Chapter 10 Blog

    I honestly am not sure where I stand on this case. The election was entirely too close to not do a recount of Florida’s votes; however, if Florida’s votes were to be recounted, why weren’t all votes recounted then? Although the government has a way of handling situations such as these that are constitutional, I don't think it a very foolproof, efficient one and should be revised.

    I strongly believe that fundraising has taken more of a front seat in politics than it should. I don’t believe that whoever has the best looking posters or campaign ads should be leading our country. It should be more of a basis of who can do the best job rebuilding the economy and getting America back on its feet. I would say something should be implemented to allow funds to be more equal amongst the candidates so they all have equal opportunity of promoting themselves with their standpoints on important issues.

    I believe voter apathy has a lot to do with people being uneducated as well as people feeling as if their votes don’t really matter. I have heard from many people the phrase, “I’m just one person; my vote doesn’t make a difference,” but obviously from the percentages shown in the book it does. If many people think this way, it starts to add up. I’m not exactly sure how this could be fixed because so much is already done to promote participation.