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Chengdu Institute Sichuan International Studies University Lesson Nine Obama Makes History Background information • Quiz: some relevant information about American politics • Elections for President of the United States • Some important figures: Barack Obama; John McCain; Hillary Clinton • Some great events: The 1994 Republican Revolution ; Hurricane Katrina U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Builders laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol in 1793, and the building has been the seat of the country’s Senate and the House of Representatives since 1800. Legislative Branch Organization Bicameral (two house) politic System Congress: Senate (100) House of Representatives (435) The U.S. Capitol: Senate The U.S. Capitol: House of Representatives • The Senate The House of Representatives Senate Organization Because of its relatively small size, the Senate has a simple organizational structure. The president pro tempore (temporary) controls the chamber, but individual members have substantial power to influence or block legislation. Organizational Structure of the House Executive Branch The executive branch of the Government is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land. President: Leader of the country and Commander in Chief of the military. Vice President: President of the Senate and becomes President if the President is unable to serve. Departments: Department heads advise the President on policy issues and help execute those policies. Independent Agencies: Help execute policy or provide special services. U.S. President &Vice President The White House (front) The White House (back) Executive Branch of Government The President's Cabinet (15 Departments) 1. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Department of State (1789) 2. Secretary of the Treasury 3. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Department of Defense (1947) 4. Attorney General Eric Holder Department of Justice (1870) 5. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Department of the Interior (1849) Timothy Geithner Department of the Treasury (1789) 6. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Department of Agriculture (1862) 7. Secretary of Commerce Judd Gregg Department of Commerce (1903) 8. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Department of Labor (1913) 9. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius Department of Health and Human Services (1953) 10. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965) 11. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Department of Transportation (1966): 12. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu Department of Energy (1977): 13. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Department of Education (1979) 14. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki Department of Veterans Affairs (1988): 15. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Department of Homeland Security (2003) Judicial Branch • • • • • • • • • • Supreme Court of the United States---------------美国最高法院 District Court-----------------------------------------------地方法院 Claims Court-----------------------------------------------索赔法院 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit----------联邦巡回上诉法院 Court of International Trade---------------------------国际贸易法院 Territorial Courts------------------------------------------属地法院 Court of Military Appeals-------------------------------军事上诉法院 Court of Veterans Appeals-----------------------------退伍军人上诉法院 Administrative Office of the Courts-----------------法院行政管理局 Federal Judicial Center----------------------------------联邦司法中心 The Supreme Court Building • Since 1935 this majestic marble building in Washington, D.C., has housed the Supreme Court of the United States. Current Supreme Court American Political Parties • Elephant----The Republican Party • Most members are conservatives. • Donkey------The Democratic Party • Most members are liberals. Election of the President • • • • • On November 5, 2008, Americans elected the 44th President of the United States. This process was set up in the United States Constitution. The Constitution requires a candidate for the presidency to be: At least 35 years old A natural born citizen of the United States A resident of the United States for 14 years So how does one become President of the United States? The following steps outline the general process for presidential elections. Step I: Primaries and Caucuses • There are many people who would like to become President. Each of these people have their own ideas about how our government should work. Some of these people can belong to the same political party. That's where primaries and caucuses come in. • In these elections, party members get to vote for the candidate that will represent their party in the upcoming general election. Step 2: National Conventions • At the end of the primaries and caucuses, each party holds a national convention to finalize the selection of one Presidential nominee. During this time, each Presidential candidate chooses a running-mate (or Vice-Presidential candidate). Step 3: The General (or Popular) Election • Now that each party is represented by one candidate, the general election process begins. Candidates campaign throughout the country in an attempt to win the support of voters. Finally in November, the people vote for one candidate. • When a person casts a vote in the general election, they are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candidate. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote for a group of people, known as electors. These electors are part of the Electoral College and are supposed to vote for their state preferred candidate. Step 4: The Electoral College • In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four. All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. • In December (following the general election), the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half (270) wins the election. The Presidentelect and Vice President-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. Quiz: some relevant information about American politics • 1. Who is responsible for running for US presidential election? • A. The federal election commission • B. The States • C. Congress • D. The organization for economic cooperation and development • 2. US presidential elections are held every_ _ years. • A. Two • B. Five • C. Eight • D. Four • 3. What are the major political parties in the United States? • A. Whig and Tory • B. Democratic and Republican • C. Conservative and Liberal • D. Evangelical and Democratic • 4. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every_ _ years • A. Two • B. Five • C. Eight • D. Four • 5. How long are the terms served by the US senators? • A. Two years • B. Four years • C. Six years • D. Eight years • 6. What were the unusual about the 2008 presidential election? • A. There were four major parties instead of two • B. It was decided by the popular vote instead of the electoral college • C. Citizens voted by internet • D. There was no incumbent president or vicepresident running • 7. What is the maximum number of terms a US president may serve? • A. One • B. two • C. Three • D. Four • 8. When does the inauguration of president-elect take place under the normal circumstances? • A. November • B. December • C. January • D. March • • • • • • • • • • 9. Which of following words mean “the right to vote”? A. Suffrage B. Canvas C. Ballot D. Naturalization 10. When is American national election held? A. November 5 B. December 25 C. The first Tuesday after the first Monday of November D. Uncertain Elections for President of the United States • Elections for President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President. They occur quadrennially (the count beginning with the year 1792) on Election Day, the Tuesday between November 2 and 8, coinciding with the general elections of various other federal, states and local races. • The process is regulated by a combination of both federal and state laws. Each state is allocated a number of Electoral College electors equal to the number of its Senators and Representatives in the U.S. Congress. Additionally, Washington, D.C. is given a number of electors equal to the number held by the smallest state. U.S. territories are not represented in the Electoral College. • Most state laws establish a winner-take-all system, wherein the ticket that wins a plurality of votes wins all of that state’s allocated electoral votes, and thus has their slate of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College. Some important figures • Barack Obama • Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu (1961), and graduated from Columbia (B.A.1983) and Harvard Law School (J.D.1991). Soon after law school, he moved to Chicago, where he practiced civil-rights law, lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and was active in Democratic Party. He was elected to the Illinois state senate in 1996, serving until he won a U.S. Senate seat in 2004. As a young Democratic star, he shocked the 2004 Democratic convention with his keynote address. • He became a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and was elected the nation’s 44th president. Obama is the first AfricanAmerican president in American history. • John McCain • John Sidney McCain III (Obama’s opponent), Born in 1936, is the senior U.S. senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 American presidential election. Graduating from the U.S. Navy Academy in 1958, McCain became a naval aviator. He once fought in the Vietnam War, and was captured by the North Vietnamese and was imprisoned in Vietnam for five years until 1973 when he was released. Because of this experience, McCain is regarded as their national hero by American people. • Hillary Clinton • Hillary Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. In the 2008 election, Clinton was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. • Some great events The 1994 Republican Revolution: • It refers to the success of the Republican Party in the 1994 U.S. midterm, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and an increase of eight seats in the Senate. The gains in seats in the mid-term election resulted in the Republican gaining control of both the House of and the Senate in January 1995. Republican had not held the majority in the House for forty years. Hurricane Katrina: • Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest Hurricanes in American history. It happened in the August of 2005. At least 1836 people lost their lives in this disaster. Text Analysis • Title: Obama Makes History Part 1 (Para 1-7): Barack Obama was elected the nation’s 44th president • Question 1: What information about Obama can you get in this part? • 1. He is the 44th president in America. (para1) • 奥巴马是美国第56届、第44任和第43位总统 • 关于 “届” “任” “位” • 美国宪法规定,总统选举4年一次,总统任满4年 为一届。如果总统在任期内因故未能满任,另由他 人接任,这两位总统为同一届总统。 • “任”,是指担任总统职位的次数。一人担任几届 总统职务,仍为一任。但一人在不连续的几届总统 选举中先后几次当选,当选几次就算几任。 • “位”,指担任过总统的实际人数。美国从开始选 举总统至今,不论是连选连任,还是先后几次当选, 不重复计算,有几位算几位。 • 2. His family: • He is the child of a Kenyan father and a white mother. (para2) • 3. His political banner: • ride a reformist message of change (para1) • Question 2: How do you understand the last sentence of paragraph 2? • “ …Republican Sen. John McCain… who could not overcome his connections to President Bush’s increasingly unpopular administration.” • On the war in Iraq: McCain is a strong supporter of the decision to go to War in Iraq and the continued presence of American troops in that country • On foreign policy: McCain generally agrees with the Bush administration’s foreign policy, including their refusal to negotiate with the Iranian government and their emphasis of military force over multilateral diplomatic solutions to conflicts. • Question 3: What are Obama’s accomplishments and goal? • Accomplishments: Obama’s election ushered in a new era of Democratic dominance in Congress; in the House, Democrats made major gains, which further strengthen the power of Democratic party. • Goal: To advance an economic and foreign policy agenda. • Language Points: • exhortation:the act of exhorting • ascend: to move from a lower to a higher level • razor-thin margin: very faint advantage • Difficult Point: • Filibuster-proof—able to avoid filibuster. Filibuster (用冗长的发言等阻挠立法) is a strategy employed in the United States Senate, by which a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues. A successful filibuster can force withdrawal of a bill. • Proof is a combining form meaning resistant, impervious to • E.g.: waterproof • Part 2 (Para 8-14): McCain and Obama’s competition and McCain’s attitude towards Obama’s victory. • Questions: • 1. What is McCain’s attitude towards Obama’s victory? • McCain congratulated Obama and delivered a gracious concession speech. • • 2. Has Obama accomplished his promise to transform the electoral map? How was the map changed? Obama made good on his pledge to transform the electoral map. He overpowered McCain in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania and passed the needed 270 electoral votes just after 11 p.m., with victories in California and Washington state. • The Democrat easily won most of the Northeast, the Rust Belt, the West Coast and mid-Atlantic states that normally back Democrats. By midnight, he appeared to be running strong in North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri and Montana. Obama ultimately won in Indiana, bringing his electoral college total to 349, while McCain won Montana, bring his total to 163 electoral college votes. • Language Points: • concession: a point, right etc. given or allowed, esp. unwillingly or after a disagreement • electoral: concerning elections or electors • gracious: polite, kind, and pleasant, esp. in a generous way • meld: to blend; to combine • Knowledge Points: • 1. Concession speech: a speech to acknowledge a rival’s victory • 2. Phoenix: Phoenix is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state Arizona. 菲尼克斯 • 3. Jimmy Carter: the 39th president of America from 1977 to 1981. He was also the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout his career, Carter strongly emphasized human rights. He took office during a period of international stagflation, which persisted throughout his term. The final year of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979 takeover of the American embassy in Iran and holding of hostages by Iranian students, and unsuccessful rescue attempt of the hostages, fuel shortages, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. • 4. Popular vote: 普选 • 5. Rust Belt: an area in parts of the Northeastern United States, Mid-Atlantic States, and portions of the Upper Midwest. It is also known as the manufacturing Belt. • 6. Electoral college: the national body elected by the voters of each state to choose the President. • 7. Presidents • Theodore Roosevelt: He was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. • John F. Kennedy: He was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. • Bill Clinton: He served as the 42 nd president from 1993 to 2001 and was the third youngest president in the United States. • Ulysses S. Grant:He was the 18th president in the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and Post-war reconstruction periods. • Part 3 (Para 15-18): Bush’s attitude to Obama’s election as president. • Questions: • Why is it said that the election was a referendum on Bush? • The economic Policy of Bush: The economic policy of the George W. Bush administration was a combination of tax cuts, expenditures for fighting two wars, and a free-market ideology intended to deemphasize the role of government in the private sector. • Hurricane Katrina: Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest Hurricanes in American history. It happened in the August of 2005. At least 1836 people lost their lives in this disaster. • The criticism of Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina: • 1. Mismanagement • 2. Lack of preparation in the relief effort • 3. Delayed response to the flooding of Orleans, Louisiana • Language Points: • referendum: a direct vote by all the people to decide about sth. on which there is strong disagreement, instead of the government making the decision • transition: the act of changing or passing from one form, state, subject or place to another • Part 4 (Para 19-25): McCain’s Efforts and Loss & Obama’s Fighting and Gains • Question: • Why could Obama overpower McCain in your view? What advantages did he have? • Language Points: • albatross: a source of frustration or guilt • Hispanic: from or connected with a country where Spanish or Portuguese is spoken • Difficult Point: • We had some tough cards to play all the way through and we hung in there all the way. • ---From the beginning to the end of the campaign, we were determined and did our best to gain a strong or advantageous position, and we remained firm all the time. • Part 5 (Para 26-28): Sen. Clinton’s attitude towards Obama’s victory • Language Points: • outreach: an organization’s or a political party’s involvement with or influence in the community • demolish: to destroy assignment • Supplementary Reading: • Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls • Thank you!