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Assignment 2: Understanding Presidential Nominations

Decent Essays

Michael Greenberg
Final Exam
Understanding Presidential Nominations
1. The framers of the constitution spent countless hours ironing out the details of what would be the American system of government. Chief amongst these discussions was the process of electing a President. The framers’ ideas varied, with some supporting election by national legislature, state officials, popular vote, etc. They eventually reached a compromise in what would become the Electoral College. Under the original system, it was determined that if a candidate did not receive a majority in the Electoral College, the House of Representatives would break a tie. The idea was there would either be a clear cut majority, otherwise the House of Representatives would chose from …show more content…

In The Gamble, Sides and Varveck argue that there are three fundamental factors, which play into Presidential elections. These fundamentals are the economy, approval rating, and length of time that the party has held office. According to Sides and Varveck, the bed was made for President Obama’s 2012 reelection. While all three fundamentals played a significant role in 2012, it can be argued that the economy set the groundwork for the other two to follow. (Sides & Varveck, 5) The story of Obama’s Presidency revolves around the economy he inherited. Prior to Obama’s election, major financial institutions had invested heavily in securities backed by bundles of home mortgages. While these investments performed at a high rate for an extended period of time, the bubble eventually burst when homeowners could no longer afford their mortgage payments. This led to the collapse of many large financial institutions, sending the economy into a state of disarray. As unemployment broke into the 6% range in September of 2012, the polls began to trend in favor of Obama. With the Republicans having held the White House for eight years and Congress for six (of those eight), the American people connected the economic downturn with the Republican Party, paving the way for Obama’s election. (Sides & Varveck,

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