2. In an election campaign, what kinds of ground rules should elected officials up for re-election follow with regard to conducting political campaigns? What kinds of conflicts of interest may arise? Should incumbents use their "bully pulpit" to campaign? to criticize their opponents? Does the context or setting for the remarks matter?

3. Consider the traditional role of the vice president or vice presidential candidate in a presidential campaign; to what degree can they advance their campaigns by engaging in "attacks" and thus helping presidential candidates stay "above the fray"? In what situations would vice presidents take a less visible role? What role might Vice President Cheney be playing by delivering the speech? What role would you expect Senator Kerry's eventual vice presidential candidate to play in the campaign?

4. In your view, was Westminster's President Lamkin acting fairly by inviting Senator Kerry to give a speech after Vice President Cheney made his address?

5. In your view, what sorts of guidelines should be established by the press or government to allow for equal time or protect the rights of candidates? Should incumbents and challengers be treated differently? Explain your view.

2. Assume you are a member of the Westminster College Board of Trustees who has just been informed of College President Lamkin's "disappointment" about Vice President Cheney's remarks, as well as his decision to invite Senator Kerry to give a rebuttal speech. Choose your view about whether this was the correct decision, and write a letter to President Lamkin expressing your view. Remember, you are a policy maker of the school, and you'll want to express your view with a logical argument or statement of support.

3. View both of the related clips for this lesson. Presume you are either a campaign strategist for either the Bush-Cheney or Kerry campaign; analyze their performance in a written "position paper", highlighting what you believe the positive things were that the candidate did to support his views and put forth his agenda. Suggest changes and revisions the candidate might use in future speeches to promote their policies on this subject.

APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Research past presidential campaigns to discover other occasions when candidates gave controversial speeches. What was the event? Who spoke? the setting? the content of the speech? Why was it controversial? Did it impact the outcome of the election? What are the similarities between the historical campaign you studied and today?