Response to Professor
The president is one of the most significant public policy agenda setters (Cobbs, 2020). This role begins at the polls. A presidential campaign reveals a candidate’s proposals and policy priorities; these proposals also reflect what voters and their parties, in general, care about; thus, their proposals shape the political agenda for many years to come (Schmitt & Strano, 2020). This is true even when the said candidate does not win their party’s nomination. A good example of how presidential candidates can shape agendas is the 2016 and 2016 candidacy of Bernie Sanders. Though he failed in both nomination bids, his erstwhile radical ideas have become mainstream ideas. These ideas include a higher minimum wage, guaranteed health care, and tuition-free college education (Haltiwanger, 2020).
References
Schmitt, M., and Strano, M. (2020). Democracy Reform Issues in the 2020 Presidential Election. New America. Retrieved from: https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/democracy-reform-issues-2020-presidential-election/what-does-it-tell-us/
Haltiwanger, J. (2020). Bernie Sanders influenced US politics more than any other failed presidential candidate in the country’s history. Business Insider. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-influence-on-us-politics-historic-despite-failed-campaigns-2020-4?IR=T
Whitman Cobb, W. N. (2020). Political science today (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Sage, CQ.