In class the other day we talked about a former student who wrote an argumentative essay. The whole class to one paragrpagh and paraharsed it. After we took each paragraph we then discussed up on the board of what were the steps the author took to writing the paper. This breaking down of the essay was sort of helpful in some ways. The part of where the thesis was being changed made senses to me and made the essay stand out more. Below is a copy of my essay, please comment on it and let me know what you think of it and what needs to be worked on.
Argumentative Essay 2nd Draft
Have you ever turned on the TV to watch the news during election year? News programs constantly bombard the public with negative campaign coverage used by candidates and their parties to gain an edge. The 2008 Presidential Campaign between Senator John McCain and Senator Barrack Obama was no different. Senator McCain drew first blood, by using the Christian fanatical definition of Obama as the anti-Christ, as a campaign strategy. Anti-Christ means a person, office, or group fulfilling the Biblical prophecies of one who will oppose Christ and substitute himself in Christ’s place. The coming of the Antichrist has been awaited by Christians for many years. In 1096 Pope Urban said that, the tyrant’s arrival was imminent.
Negative advertisements are usually targeted at the opponent whose ideas or history might be able to be used against them in an incriminating way. Reactions to the negative advertisement cannot be controlled and it may or may not have its desired effect. Negative advertisement created by the media and candidates in presidential elections can stir up uncertainty among the voters and cause mixed negative feelings about one or both of the candidates. McCain’s daily promises to conduct a “respectful campaign”, has vanished. John McCain’s campaign recently released an online video called “The One”. It proclaims that Barrack Obama to be a self appointed messiah. While the McCain campaign argues it was a “creative” and “humorous” way to poke fun at Obama, it has definitely raised some Christian, non-Christian, and political eyebrows. The ad got the voters talking, thinking and second guessing as to whom they would vote for. It put enough of an uncertainty in the voter’s minds that it might have an impact on the outcome of the election.
“The respectful campaign has taken a nasty turn into the gutter. Sen. John McCain has resorted to lies and distortions in what sounds like an increasingly desperate attempt to slow down Sen. Barack Obama by raising questions about his patriotism”, as reported by the NY Times on July 31, 2008. “Instead of taking the Democrat down a few notches, these baseless attacks are raising more questions about the Republican’s campaign and his ability to control his temper”. This was Sen. McCain’s desperate attempt to help his failing political campaign. He stooped to slanderous remarks, something he promised he was not going to do during this election. Sen. McCain claims he never said that Obama is the anti-Christ; he was just making fun of him, his popularity and celebrity status. What do Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Barrack Obama have in common, and John McCain does not—charisma defined as that rare and elusive quality that enables a leader to excite and motivate voters and capture the popular imagination. Something McCain has not been able to do. Maybe that is why he resorted to slanderous remarks and turning the campaign into a negative one. He saw his campaign spiraling downward and felt he had no choice but to lash out at Obama and plant doubt in the minds of Christians.
But, negative advertisement cannot be controlled or predicted and the desired affects may not be achieved, in fact, the opposite may happen. A number of important religious figures are angry over McCain’s campaign; they believe the ad makes Barack Obama as a kind of anti-Christ. Mara Vanderslice, founder and director of the pro-Obama religious group found, “this McCain campaign ad “The One” to be one of the most offensive ads we have seen in American politics to date. At best, this ad implies that those who plan to support Senator Obama are looking for a new savior or a replacement Messiah. But many are reading it even more darkly as an attempt to portray Obama as an anti-Christ figure. A vote for Senator Obama is a vote for the man we think will make the best President, not for a new Messiah. As Christians, we have one Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. It is blasphemous to suggest otherwise”. She goes on to suggest that Christians ignore the ad and turn their focus on McCain and how low he can go to add to the fears of Christians and to make a mockery of their beliefs.
Christians seem to be divided in their opinion of Sen. Obama. While some think of him as sprouting horns and a tail and how they could possibly vote for someone who is pro-choice, advocates stem cell research, and tri-mester abortion. Still others think the Christian faith is based on the love of Jesus and his demand that we love one another. They see Obama as someone wanting to unite the people and help the poor by giving them a chance for a better life. Jesus never criticized or judged he simply forgave. Reverend John Hagee, radical pastor from the Cornerstone Church in Texas, was asked if he thought Barrack Obama was the anti-Christ, he replied, not a chance. “He has a lot of charisma. There’s a media love affair with him right now. He is a very formidable political person. I believe the best leader for America in the future is John McCain”. Rev. John Hagee eagerly awaits the Armageddon, considers the Catholic Church to be the Anti-Christ, and has said that Jews brought their own persecution upon themselves. Even the radical and Catholic Church hateful John Hagee does not believe Obama is the anti-Christ. But, the debate continues.
The debate over Obama as the anti-Christ has gotten so intense that Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, the authors of the “Left Behind” series, have issued a statement clarifying that Obama is likely not the Antichrist in the Book of Revelation. Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days“, is a best selling novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. The novel is based on a specific reading of the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelations. In the book, millions of people suddenly vanish and the survivors frantically begin searching as well as the answer as to why this happened. The story is built around such themes as the end of times, the second coming, the anti-Christ and the expectation of the messiah. The novel has received different reactions; the American Evangelical Christian community has approved the idea of the end times being brought out. “In terms of its impact on Christianity, it’s probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible”, stated Jerry Falwell. The Publisher Weekly claims the Left Behind, is the most successful Christian fiction ever wrote. Other evangelicals object, because they say it is not a Christian message. The Commission on Theology and Church Relations reported that “the ideas expressed in the Left Behind series are in many ways contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture, but nonetheless containing a fictional story line.” “I’ve gotten a lot of questions the last few weeks asking if Obama is the Antichrist,” Jenkins told Christian Newswire. “I tell everyone that I don’t think the Antichrist will come out of politics, especially American politics.” LaHaye and Jenkins interpretation of the Book of Revelation is a literal one. They believe the antichrist will surface at some point, but neither sees Obama as being the one. “I can see by the language he uses why people think he could be the antichrist,” adds LaHaye, “but from my reading of scripture, he doesn’t meet the criteria. There is no indication in the Bible that the antichrist will be an American.” The biblical book of Revelation says the antichrist will be in his 40s and of Muslim ancestry, Obama is not a Muslim. Both Jenkins and LaHaye think the commercial ran by McCain should not be taken too seriously. “The people who think Obama might be the Antichrist and the people who think the McCain campaign is cannily designing its campaign ads to exploit fears that Obama might be the Antichrist deserve each other,” wrote Ross Douthat of the Atlantic Post. The authors of the Left Behind novel, and prominent religious leaders believe that Obama is not the anti-Christ, even though there are still some fanatics that have equated him to the main character in the book and still insist that Obama is the anti-Christ and his election to the presidency will fulfill another prophecy from the Book of Revelations that the world is coming to an end.
Nicolae Jetty Carpathia is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the book Left Behind. Carpathia is the anti-Christ and a world leader. He ultimately persecutes followers of Jesus Christ. In the story, Carpathia showed remarkable intelligence and athletic ability. He rose to power young and quick, excellent speech giver, male, talks about peace, multi-lingual, uses rhetoric that seems spiritual and religious, young people seem to flock to him in very large droves. Barrack Obama has been compared to the Carpathia character, hence the anti-Christ accusation. Obama, just like any other public figure has speechwriters that write his speeches, and any other similar characteristic to Carpathia can also be explained. Many people are multi-lingual, male and talk about peace; maybe because we are tired of a war we can’t win. Do these characteristics really make Obama the anti-Christ?
Since John McCain continues with the negative campaigning, he also continues to slip in the polls. A poll conducted by the CNN/Opinion Research Corp focused on what the voters think of the McCain campaign approach. The results show that he should change his strategy. Polls show that 60% of Americans think that the negative attacks from the McCain campaign are unfair. McCain’s plans are not working. Instead of sticking to the political issues that Americans want answers to, he seems to think that he can use fear, and defamation of character to turn the election around. But, it is having the opposite effect. According to US News, it is not only the Democrats and independents who are not impressed with the way the McCain campaign is going. While 50% of the Democrats are enthusiastic about voting this year, just about only 25% of the Republicans are. It appears that no one is very much impressed with Sen. John McCain; he should have stuck to his original agenda that is the political concerns of the American voters, even his Republicans are shaking their heads and are wondering why?
Senator Obama’s response to the negative ads from the McCain campaign resulted in ads of his own denouncing the accusations made by John McCain. His ads also centered and what he stands for. His campaign slogans of “Yes We Can” and “Change we can believe in” were what the American people wanted to hear. Obama permitted Americans to feel better about themselves, through optimism and hope. An estimated 136.6 million Americans will vote in this election, based on 88 per cent of the country’s precincts tallied and projections for absentee ballots, according to Michael McDonald, of George Mason University. Many of those voters chose Mr. Obama, believing that “change” was more important, at this moment in American history, than “experience”. The economy, not foreign policy, proved the most significant election issue. The recent financial crisis has made Americans thinking more about our economy and recession, rather than Iraq. Obama continued to run his campaign on faith, hope and clarity on issues, while McCain resorted to negative ads.
Obama appeared on the Daily show with Jon Stewart. When Jon asked Obama what his thoughts are on what people have called him, a Marxist, a socialist, a Muslim terrorist sympathisizer, an elitist, a celebrity, a witch and the anti-Christ. Obama responded that the average American is not concerned with all this “stuff”, what is this “stuff” anyway? He adds that Joe Voter wants to know how I can hang on to my house, who is going to help me find a job, and what about my healthcare, my premiums have doubled over the past two years. Obama believes that voters are not paying too much attention to all the “stuff” they have too many other things to worry about. As Jon is concerned, no matter what you think of Obama, he can take a joke, and can give as good as he gets.
One of the most talked about aspects of Obama’s presidential campaign, has been his ability to create a sort of political rapture in his followers, especially young people. Mr. Obama’s campaigning relied on the young voters. His rock star image of American politics, hip personality, high intellect, and the American Idol persona of politics aroused the American youth in taking a stand. Obama talks to the young voters on their level, and not at them. He is able to excite and not bore them. He continues his campaign on his terms and people who support and fallow him are not concerned about whether he is the anti-Christ or not. The young voters like him for what he is and what he stands for; they are not religious fanatics spewing words about the coming of the end of the world. They maybe just as religious as the next person, but the young voters know and understand that they are the next generation, that they will live in this world and want to make it better for themselves. They are unconcerned about Biblical accusations. Obama has been able to reach the young voters through something they can understand, the internet. Voters 29 years and younger said they were reached by Obama twice as often as McCain. Obama flooded the internet with e-mails, ads and speeches, reaching an extraordinary amount of voters. One of those voters reached by Obama was myself. I received e-mails from his campaign office on a daily basis. I was apprised of recent developments in his campaign, I was asked for any help I could offer, as well as asking for a donation in any monetary form. According to Barrack, the campaign is my hands. “With your vote, and the votes of your friends, family, and neighbors, we won’t just win this election — together, we will change this country and change the world”. Each e-mail was just signed as Barrack, like a friend. I think this added a personal touch to his campaigning. I was slightly impressed even though I knew the e-mail wasn’t directly from him. On the other hand, I never received anything from the McCain campaign; I guess he did not want my vote. Not once did the idea that Obama might be the anti-Christ and that I was supporting someone who might bring the end of the world as we know it crossed my mind. I wanted to know how he was going to help me pay for my education, and how the world was going to end. I also received an e-mail from Michelle Obama, Al Gore, and Joe Biden, again urging me to vote and donate. Michelle writes “go vote today, and make sure you take your friends and family with you. This is the day when we have to commit to doing everything we can. We can’t afford not to — for our families, our communities, and our future. Once you vote, you can do more than just wait as the returns come in. You can help get every last vote for Barack by volunteering in your community or making calls from home. Help put us over the top today”.
After the election was over, Barrack wrote thanking me for my support and will continue to keep me apprised of all the developments “I want to thank, you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I’ll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing… All of this happened because of you”. . I don’t think the anti-Christ will be that polite, especially after he knows he has won.
When Sen. John McCain ran his campaign ad of Barrack Obama as “The One”, insinuating that Obama is the anti-Christ, he opened a can of worms. His campaign strategy was to halt Obama’s success in the polls, but instead it had an opposite effect. Obama followers continued to support and believe in him, while McCain lost his credibility with the voters and his Republicans. Everyone, it appeared had an opinion on the topic, including influential religious leaders. But in the end, the general consensus was that he is not the anti-Christ, and the remark did not hurt his chances for the presidency; since the election is over and he is our next president.
