The Long Days And Nights On The Bus With Mr. Donald Trump

Before I started reading the book Hardball, by Chris Matthews, I had a preconceived idea of what the content of this book would be. From the title of the book I drew the conclusion that Matthews would write more about the darker side of politics and how it is 'really' played. I don't really know much about politics, and frankly, I don't care much for politics. However, when I hear the word hardball in the context of politics, I think of blood shed. I think of dirty tricks and blackmail and money changing hands in dark places. I even think of the mafia to some degree when I hear the word hardball. Perhaps my notion of hardball was a bit more than what Chris Matthews describes in his book. After

In his book Hardball, Chris Matthews discusses the useful strategies for getting ahead in politics that he observed during his time working in Washington, D.C. He breaks up his observations into chapters with different lessons. Three of the most important lessons are “It's Not Who You Know; It's Who You Get to Know,” (Chapter 1) “All Politics is Local,” (Chapter 2) and “Dance With the One That Brung Ya.” (Chapter 4). These chapters illustrate how important making and keeping connections and relationships is in Washington. The “game of politics” is played by using these relationships to gain favors, votes, support, etc. According to Matthews, the people who get ahead are the ones who make and keep these important connections and relationships with other politicians and the public.

Before L.B.J. got into politics, he worked at a Mexican-American school in Cotulla, Texas. President Johnson taught 5th, 6th, and 7th, grade at this small elementary school. President L.B.J. says, “They never seemed to know why people disliked them. But they knew it was so, because I saw it in their eyes.” This proves that President Johnson had some heart for these students. Mr. Wilbur

Hardball by Chris Matthews is an interpretation of what many know as “hard-politics”. The book describes the skill of playing the game in Washington and how to be successful at it. The book is a guide that teaches a series of maxims that would be in favor of politicians to learn in order to be successful. The different tactics provided in the book hold a lot of knowledge that would make the life of anyone following these strategies much easier when trying to get ahead in life. Matthews describes a countless number of examples of successful politicians that rose to the top. Those politicians are the ones who learned how to play hardball in Washington.

President Donald Trump has only been in office for a few months, but a great many people find his plutocratic ways of this country unsustainable. One of those people is Joseph Epstein. Epstein writes in the article “Trump and the Plutocrats Hubris” about how he feels that it is wrong of Tump to think he will be a great president, just because he is a great businessman. In the piece, the author takes a subjective view on the matter and uses rhetorical devices such as diction and hyperboles to try and persuade the reader to think as he does.

The President used many techniques to persuade his opinion on the importance of American equality. Johnson made a point to acknowledge his reputation to Congress and the American people. He remarks, “I want to be the President who educated young children to the wonders of their world. I want to be the President who helped to feed the hungry and to prepare them to be taxpayers instead of tax-eaters.” By using anaphora and noting his duty as President, Johnson shows that he has a desire to improve the country in any

Lyndon B. Johnson was an intimidating man, and was used to making things go according to his plan. He generally would do anything possible to make what he wanted happen, and would sometimes use immoral tactics to do so. The “Johnson Treatment” as it was named, was Johnson’s most popular tactic of intimidation. He would tower over whomever he was speaking, using intimidating words and well as physical contact to get what he wanted from them. His time in the House, Senate, and White House were all filled with this type of behavior to make things get done his way. Although his time spent in political office was marked with scandal, and sometimes immoral tactics, overall Lyndon B. Johnson did many great things for the American people and this country. His influence as president from 1963-1969 can still be felt to this day, and Robert Dallek does an excellent job of detailing these successes in Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and his Times.

Lyndon Baines Johnson’s use of ethos, or credibility, in his speech was very simple, but at the same time, very powerful. Johnson’s credibility simply comes from the fact that, at the time of the speech, he was the President of The United States of America. Although this seems very obvious, he reminds the audience of his power several times throughout the speech by referring to himself as “your President” (5,6). He also reminds the audience of his power by speaking about a bill that he plans to present, and three bills he has already passed, in order to fix the issue at hand. Although Johnson does well to make sure he is seen as an authority figure who should be listened to, he also does very well

From the rousing introduction, Chris Mathews' Hardball presents itself as a godsend to young aspiring politicians, businessmen, and frankly, everyone alike. Pompously self-assured, Mathews discusses his reasoning to sharing his wisdom collected from his own experience and other major players in "Hardball". However after finishing the book, his audacity could be forgiven by the enjoyable nature of his work, the information it provides, and the uncanny resemblance to Benjamin Franklin's writing style. In the first section of Mathews' self-proclaimed "classic" and political manifesto, he presents the world of politics through a series of informative--if not redundant--phrases, historical examples, and his own experience in Washington.

The political game is a dog eat dog world, there are several factors that determined weather a politician will be successful or not. Having alliances, enemies, and deals is all part of it. In the book “Hardball: How Politics is Played” written by Chris Mathews explains what it takes to get ahead in politics and how to avoid disasters techniques previously used by others.

The first chapter revolves around Mathews talking about how Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan became successful through the idea of “who you get to know” and not just who you know. Mathews explained how during the Great Depression, Lyndon B. Johnson would stay at the Dodge Hotel and approach the U.S. senators who stayed there one by one. This helped him engage with them more on a personal level and help him figure out the motives of these people as well as others. At one point Johnson “got up early to brush his teeth five times, with five-minute intervals in between” (Mathews 25) and this shows how determined he was to meet as many congressional secretaries as he could that lived there. Another way Johnson tried to know more about others is through the use of party cloakrooms. This was a place where congressmen and senators went to relax in their off time. Johnson hired “Bobby” Baker, the man who answered the phones in the Senate Democratic

Chris Matthew’s Hardball consists of four different parts containing different themes and policies on how the political world is run. All four parts: Alliances, Enemies, Deals, and Reputations contain personal anecdotes, historical context of Presidents’ careers, and rules Matthew’s has formed throughout political experience. The beginning of each chapter starts off with a quote that foreshadows the subject of each chapter. Although Matthews does establish important rules to follow as a politician, I disagree with some of his points even though I am a democrat like him.

Hardball by Chris Matthews has a subliminal message through the book itself. The title of the book related to the complexity and strategy it takes to be in politics here in the United States. His perspective is not only on just playing along in politics, but in the use of it in hard and or misleading ways. His ability to enlighten the reader on these tactics used for our congress is used to show the reader a different viewpoint on our government. Showing also that everything in politics is not all black and white. The tactics he explains through the book outline some tactics people use through everyday life in society. As in to focus on goals, keep friends close and enemy’s closer and etc. These lesson Chris Matthews explain through the book are elaborated to show how politics is more of a game of wits. Showing that politics is different than what the public perceive it to be through the media.

For the entirety of the article, Stephens utilizes a very relaxed language, often creating his very own names, like “Trumpkin”. Furthermore he uses acronyms and informal language to create a conversational connection with the reader.This choice provides a sense of intimacy and allows for the speech to really be remembered as not a lot of other articles include such relaxed language. However, this piece is a commentary so it is only right that the author’s voice shines through. As for word choice, Stephens employs many words when describing Trump such as, “oblige his man-crush” and “rocks for jocks .” The word choice almost reflects what Stephens thinks of Trump’s presidency, shallow. Powerful word choice are used several times throughout the article to make his argument

Donald Trump recently gave a speech discussing rising Radical Islamic Terrorism, immigration from the Middle East, and a need for a rise in national security while Manchester, New Hampshire on June 13th 2016. He centers his whole speech around discussing how bad a President his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be in difficult times. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of Finance in 1968 with a bachelor 's degree in economics, and has become a very successful businessman. He’s the Republican nominee for this upcoming presidential election, and is a very controversial candidate and person. He has come under fire for many of his views that he discusses in his June 13th speech. While Trump does make some agreeably points, he renders his speech ineffective because of his heavy reliance on Clinton’s opinion to form his own. If Trump were to become President, his stance on important issues would need to be reached with careful consideration, and not just based on doing the opposite of his opponents.