AP United States Government & Politics
Summer Assignments-2014
Due Date: First Day of Class
Mr. Meyer (lmeyer@lhsd.k12.oh.us)
You will need to purchase the book Hardball on your own. it is also available at any
major bookstore/library, or on I-tunes. You could also order on Amazon.com. You may
buy book in any condition, as long as you can read it! You can find it for very cheap
Please note: Hardball is one of the most popular summer reading selections for AP
Government teachers. You are one of the hundreds of thousands of seniors across the
nation required to read this book this summer.
I do have copies of the book as well. First come, first serve!
ASSIGNMENTS SHOULD BE TYPED, DOUBLE SPACED,
12 pt., TIMES FONT
ASSIGNMENT 1: (will be used as 1st Quarter Paper Grade)
First, Read Hardball; In the book Hardball, Chris Matthews defines the title term:
"Hardball is clean, aggressive Machiavellian politics. It is the discipline of gaining and
holding power, useful to any profession or undertaking, but practiced most openly and
unashamedly in the world of public affairs.” Matthews supports his observations and
conclusions with quotes from a variety of sources. The quotes are taken from Hardball:
1. "The purpose of the war room was not just to respond to Republican attacks ... It was to respond to them
fast, even before they were broadcasted or published, when the lead of the story was still rolling around in
the reporter's mind...
2. “… Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat
3. “By anointing himself the “Comeback Kid”, he’d converted his second place showing into a daunting
triumph”- relate to Bill Clinton
4. No, Ronald Reagan is a man of the media: the Great Wholesaler ... he was positioning himself with
enormous science, establishing himself in the public mind not as an aloof head of government but as the
man next door. Every action was designed to make him appear close to the people and distant from the
government
5. "... His message came across clear and appealing ... He described America as a country 'where no
Catholic prelate would tell the President -- should he be a Catholic - how to act and no Protestant minister
would tell his parishioners for whom to vote. This is a country where religious liberty is so indivisible that
an act against one Church is treated as an act against all."
6. The waiter said, "Well, maybe you don't know who I am." "Well, as a matter of fact, I don't ... who are
you" "I'm the guy who's in charge of the butter."
7. “I’ve lived across the street from you for eighteen years,” he told her. “I shovel your walk in the winter.
I cut your grass in the summer. I didn’t think I had to ask you for your vote.” He never forgot her
response. Tom, I want you to know something: people like to be asked.”
8. "It's been said that I'm not the most compelling speaker, and there are actually those who claim that I
don't always communicate in the clearest, most concise way. Well, I may not be the most eloquent ... and I
may sometimes be a little awkward ... but there is nothing self-conscious in my love of country. I am a
quiet man, but I hear the quiet people others don't. The ones who raise a family, pay the taxes, met the
mortgages."
9. “No chore was too small if a fellow Senator needed to have it done. As one former colleague put it, “If
you took out a pencil, he’d sharpen it.” …“Apparently, most Democratic Senators like to have their pencils
sharpened.”
10. “In other words, to gain a senator’s vote on a bill, Johnson would spend days studying every
conceivable source of motivation. When he was ready, he would just happen to bump into him. The fellow
never knew what hit him.”
11. "Read my lips, No….New….Taxes” (1988)
12. "Better to have ‘em inside the tent pissin out than outside pissin' in.
ASSIGNMENT:
(a) Describe the context of 10 of the preceding quotes, giving appropriate details
including the speaker and background of the quote
AND
(b) Explain its meaning using one of the listed political maxims (below)
AND
(c) Explain an example of how you could apply 5 of the maxims to your life (school,
work, relationships with parents, friends, etc.). IF YOU REALLY READ THE WHOLE
BOOK, AND ATTEMPT TO COMPREHEND IT, THIS WILL NOT BE
DIFFICULT!
Political Maxims (chapter headings, depending on edition)
What've ya done for me lately?
All politics is local.
It's better to receive than to give.
Triangulation
Dance with the one that brung ya.
Keep your enemies in front of you.
Don't Get Mad; Don't Get Even; Get Ahead.
Leave no shot unanswered.
Hang a Lantern on Your Problem.
Politics = Power
Only talk when it improves the silence.
Positioning.
Retail politics.
The Press is the enemy
It’s not who you know, it’s who you get to know
Spin
Always concede on principle
**My recommendation is that while you are reading Hardball, try to locate some of the
quotes and take notes on them as you go. This will make the assignment seem less
daunting. For the most part, each quote will pertain to the maxim that is used as the
headline for that chapter. Feel free to email me over the summer with any questions you
might have
Additional summer work
**Also, you should get in the habit of becoming a constant student of politics. Watch
CNN, MSNBC, FOX, or C-SPAN whenever you get a chance. Read newspapers and
online news sites. Class discussion will rely on being informed about current affairs. The
class will benefit from your increased awareness. The following websites are also great
concerning politics and electoral studies:
THIS IS A MIDTERM ELECTION YEAR! Ohio has an active race for Governor and
every House seat in the US is up for election. Check out the following sites for daily
political news
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.html
http://www.pollster.com/
http://electoral-vote.com/
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
http://www.politico.com/