Election+Project

__**The Election Project of 2012 (65 Points, 70 Possible)**__

Directions:

Select one of the two major party candidates for President. Complete the following for that candidate.

1. On the Polls (10 Points) Find 2 reputable polls (Gallup or a major news organization would be a good place to look); one that is positive for this candidate and one which presents a challenge for this candidate. Summarize the poll and its results. What is the margin of error? When was it conducted? For each poll, include how you think it would/should affect the candidate's campaign.

2. Campaign Advertising (10 Points) Analyze two campaign ads relating to this candidate, one positive and one negative. Identify and explain the propaganda techniques used in each ad. Include the videos in your Presentation or Prezi along with your analysis and commentary. (Use the LivingRoom Candidate or a search online for the campaign ads for Obama and Romney Here is Mitt Romney's YouTube channel and here is a Channel supporting President Obama's campaign, they might be helpful)

3. On the Issues (15 Points) On the issues: identify three issues you are most interested in. Summarize the most important two points about those issues from this site and identify where your candidate stands on these issues.

4. On the electoral college. (5 Points) Using 270 to Win, make a prediction of what you think the upcoming election will look like. Print your map and take a screenshot of it. Write a narrative of why you made the selections you did, especially in the swing states. (If you are on a PC and need help with making a screenshot, sign up for an iClippy account and use it to take your screenshot. If you are on a Mac, use SHIFT+Command+4)

5. On campaign finance (10 Points) Where are your candidate's strengths? Weaknesses? How is your candidate spending money? Raising it? How is your candidate's party doing in fundraising? Use OpenSecrets and some internet research for this section.

6. Details (10 Points) Format: Incorporate the above information into a Google Presentation or a Prezi. Incorporate interesting and appropriate images, graphs, videos, etc. Cite all sources. Turn in on time and published so Ms Wolfe can see it right away. To turn it in, submit the URL here.

Watch a debate in its entirety (find a schedule of the debates here). Assess your candidate's (or his VP's) performance on content and style. Also include a followup from the next day's news. How does the media view your candidate's performance? Your analysis can earn up to 5 additional points for your project.
 * BONUS OP:** (5 points possible)