Week 5 discnnMaking Presidential Decisions (graded)

Week 5 discnn

President Harry Truman, the first Cold War President, had a sign on his desk saying “The Buck Stops Here.” The Webliography contains a link to the photo and story. Indecisive people can pass on their responsibilities and “pass the buck,” and advisory people can propose their concepts and lobby for acceptance, but the President can ultimately turn to nobody else. Presidents must make the hard decisions. It is a heavy mantle to bear on those presidential shoulders. It is lonely at the top.

President Johnson’s “wise men” possessed depth in their areas of expertise beyond that of the President, who was a master mover of legislation to accomplish domestic social programs but very much out of his league in military matters and international relations.

To begin, evaluate this question: To what extent was the March 1968 reevaluation of the Vietnam War, as a function of Cold War ideology, accomplished to satisfy domestic concerns rather than international concerns? In a time of mixed obligations, how can we differentiate what is domestic from what is international in American politics?

When the dissolution of European colonialism began after World War II, the news media technology of the day was called a “newsreel.” To see the faces and hear the voices of world leaders and reports of events, you would watch one or two short films at the movie theaters along with the movie previews. These newsreels would be weeks or even months old, but they were the closest one could get to witnessing the events that we can see instantaneously on television today. If, as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” then the photographs in newspapers and the filmed newsreels taught powerful lessons. Our textbook contains some powerful photographs that still rivet our attention today.

• Page 68 Figure 3.1 – President Eisenhower greeting President Ngo Dinh Diem at Washington National Airport in 1957
• Page 105 Figure 4.3 – The Buddhist monk immolating himself on a Saigon street in 1963
• Page 232 Figure 8.5 – Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong member on a Saigon street in 1968
• Page 340 Figure 12.2 – President Nixon greeting returning POW LCDR John McCain in 1973

Your assignment is to go on a field trip through the Internet and bring back two photographs for discussion of their impact: one from Vietnam activity (not necessarily combat-related) and one from any other source that you think made significant impact on the public. Be sure to give the URLs in your discussion post for others to go and see them. Then, with each one, write a paragraph about why that photo made significant impact on the public perception of events. Okay, off you go on your field trip. We will await your return.

Week 6 discnnn

The class lectures and readings from Dr. Moss’ book speak about how presidents get personally invested in the results of their work, and how that investment impacts the decisions they make. Presidents do not, however, engage in diplomatic negotiations directly. They send ambassadors and negotiators who may be as senior as the Secretary of State, in the example of Dr. Henry Kissinger at the Paris Peace Talks. Diplomats also get personally involved. They get involved with their own desires for career success, as well as their desires for positive outcomes for their own countries. Doing poorly and conceding often requires that negotiators not be embarrassed; that is, that they “save face” for themselves personally and for their governments at home. Let’s start this discussion with the famous leaders mentioned so far in the course: In the Week 6 readings you see their own need to “save face” for themselves and their countries. What are some of the great examples shown so far of “saving face” on the part of diplomats? What does “saving face” mean in diplomatic situations?

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