Syllabus for “So It is Finally Over”
PrincetonAdultSchool
Walter Frank
Our first class will meet two days after one of the most contentious and off-putting elections in U.S. history. Estimates are that more than half of all Americans felt personally stressed by the event. Most people couldn’t wait for it to be over. And yet you want to talk about it for eight more hours. You are a brave and worthy group.
I hope and believe that you will be rewarded with a course both fun and illuminating. There is a wonderful short story by Steven Millhauser called “The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad” in which an old and weary Sinbad, resting in the corner of his courtyard garden, dreams about his adventures of many years ago. Part of the meaning of the story lies in the notion that there are really three sets of Sinbad adventures: the one that actually happened, the one that exists in Sinbad’s telling of the stories to his porter, and the one lodged in his memory. With the election still so vivid in our minds, it is good to remember that eventually there will be three elections: the one that actually happened, the one lodged in our memories and the one we try and explain.
Although we are far from that point, we have undoubtedlyexperienced the events of the last year in different ways. I hope we can share some of those different experiences, not only for the inherent value of sharing stories but also as a way for all of us to think collectively about some important questions: how do we arrive at our political opinions? What factors go into our choices? Why do people see things so differently? We also need to place this election in its historical context, assess its importance and reflect on what it says about us currently as a nation, about the health of our democracy and about the future.
I’ve divided the course into eight one hour segments described below:
November 10:
First Hour: Looking Back.This is hopefully the only segment in which I will do most of the talking. I will briefly highlight the major events of the election cycle, starting with the announcements by Clinton and Trump and others of their candidacies down to November 8.
Second Hour: Why We Think the Way We do. In this second hour, we will have a broad ranging discussion about how people formulate their political opinions. I will provide some background and then ask the group to share their own viewpoints. Ask yourself why you think the way you do? Have your views changed over time? If so, why? If not, why not? What most influences how you think? Where do you put yourself on the political spectrum? Is it good for people to have a fixed ideological point of view?
November 17
First Hour: The Nomination Struggles: I will provide some background and then we will discuss a number of questions:
For the Democrats we will consider:Why did Hillary Win? Are Super Delegates undemocratic? How important was the DNC’s favoritism toward Hillary? Why did the Republicans have 17 candidates and the Democrats only 3? If the nomination struggle had been between Warren and Clinton, who would have won? If Biden had chosen to run, would he have been the nominee?
For the Republicans, we will discuss a number of questions, including: How did Trump win? Could he have been stopped? Are winner-take-all primaries a good thing? How important was the media in Trump’s ascendancy? Should the Republicans have handled their debates differently? Should Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina continue to play such outsize roles in the nominating process?
Second Hour: The Conventions. I will provide some background and then we will discuss a number of questions, including: What goals did each of the candidates have for their conventions? Which convention provided a better send off for their candidate? What did you perceive as the high points of each Convention? The low points? Are party platforms important? How did the selection of their running mates fit into the over-all strategies of the two candidates? Who made the better choice? Are there better alternatives to conventions?
THERE IS NO CLASS ON NOVEMBER 24.
December 1
First Hour: From Post-Convention to the First Debate: I will provide background and then we will assess who did better during this period and what strategies were in evidence. What vulnerabilities of the candidates were exposed during this period? Did the other side capitalize on those vulnerabilities? How much did outside events affect the campaign during this period? What do you recall of this part of the campaign? Had you made up your mind how you would vote?
Second Hour: From the First Debate to Election Day: Did you watch any of the debates? Did they influence you in any way? Should Jill Stein and Gary Johnson been allowed to participate? Have debates become too important in our elections? If you were Trump’s adviser, how would you have handled the Billy Bush tape? The subsequent allegations? Was the media unfair to Donald Trump?
December 8:
First Hour: Assessing Our Democracy: What does this election say about the health of our democracy? If you could refashion how we elect Presidents exactly to your liking, what reforms would you institute? Why does negative advertising work? Who benefited more from the Citizens United decision in the campaign, Clinton or Trump? Should presidential elections be publicly financed? What role did political parties play in determining the outcome of the election? Are campaigns too long? If so, what can we do to change them? Should we aim to encourage the development of third parties or is a stable two party system still preferable?
Second Hour: Assessing the Election Results and Looking to the Future: I will provide a summary of the results and we will then consider what they mean for the future. Not knowing the results, it is impossible to be more specific but we will certainly consider the impact of the results on the future of each of the two parties and ask who benefited most from the election. We will then discuss what the election results portend for the immediate future and specifically, what the odds now are for ending or at least taming, partisan gridlock in Washington. Also, what advice would we give to the President-elect whomever he or she may be?