Political Discussion - Coursework Example

Politics Presidential Approval Public approval of the president changes significantly during the of a president’s term in office. Historical trends indicate that presidents are often less popular during the second term. Statistically, only two presidents, Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, out of seven since the 1900s, have had higher approval rates in their second term than the first term. Economic recovery has always been the main purpose for a rise in approval ratings. The pattern holds because of public fatigue, scandals in the first term, and setbacks as concerns political agenda.

President Nixon’s Watergate Scandal was considerably destructive because it earned him the lowest ratings in the second term as compared to other presidents. The current president, President Obama threatens to break this trend because he enjoys a conspicuous upward trend in his approval ratings since the 2012 election. Even so, the second term, riddled by the "second-term curse", is considerably rough because of the over expectations of the public.Special Interest GroupsSpecial interest groups are good for the nation because they exert influence on the political and legal systems.

They encourage democracy and ensure that decision makers settle on decisions that serve the common good. A healthy democracy is possible because of the efforts of interest groups, who neutralize bad policies, and represent minority groups. Although they have too much influence on policy, the existence of several interest groups ensures that their negotiations results in the best policies. Even so, the presence of too many special interest groups is bad because the government may fail to achieve anything substantial.

They have other advantages too, such as misrepresentation of cultures, but the advantages of special interest groups make them good. From www.opensecrets.org, I learned about the influence of money on U.S. public policy and elections. Some politicians often finance most interest groups, and they use them to push their own agenda and political interests.