E-mailing Joe Klein: The Experience

Here is a copy of my e-mail to Joe Klein.

Dear Mr. Klein,
    I sincerely hope that you are the person reading this instead of your secretary or editor. (Not that I don't value them as well, but my task is to contact you. In the hopes that you are in fact you, I will carry on.) I am a junior in high school, and I am in an AP English class of students that have been assigned the task of blogging about op-ed writers. I chose you for no other reason than that you seemed the most notable writer at Time according to Google. Although I have received Time at my house for a few months now, I had not been an avid reader or your column until I chose you as the subject of my blog. Before I continue, I must say that you are indeed an excellent writer, even if there are weeks that I do not agree with you. You very obviously deserve respect for the success you have in your career.
  Our most recent blog post was supposed to be about the claim and concession presented in one of our writer's articles. I chose "A Careless Man: What the Bush Memoir Reveals." I am also supposed to ask you if you can refer any other material to me that is related in any way to this article. Thanks in advance if you choose to help me! And if not, thanks for writing. If you didn't write, I would not have anything to comment on.
    Before I send this e-mail that you may never respond to, I would like to make this e-mail memorable to you. I have a friend in my class who is writing about your colleague, Joel Stein. During her search to find a way to contact Mr. Stein, she came across an article he had written stating that he did not want to be contacted by readers. She e-mailed him anyway, and I hope that he decides to break his own rule and reply. If you and Mr. Stein are ever having a conversation, I would greatly appreciate if you could mention to him to reply to the junior girl who is blogging about him. I know my friend would appreciate it! Thanks again for reading this far into an e-mail that I am sure is one of many!

Awaiting your reply,
Juliana Schott

P.S. Here is a link to my blog about you if you are at all interested in reading what I have to say!

http://julianaschott.blogspot.com/

     Writing to Joe Klein was an experience that I wish I could have savored more. As is apparent by the time that I am posting this, I am an avid procrastinator. Therefore, I am unable to post a reply from Joe Klein at present. 

      As I sat formulating my e-mail, I was a bit nervous about what this highly prestigious writer for a national magazine would think. Thankfully, I consider myself pretty good at not worrying about what others think of me, and I can guarantee that I will not lose any sleep worrying about a total stranger's opinion of me. I do hope that Joe will take a few moments of his time from Time (punny, right?) to glance at my blog. I would be honored to have such an important writer read my humble ramblings. If you are reading right now, Mr. Klein, thank you! You have no idea what this means to me! 

     I'm getting flustered just thinking about the possibility of him actually reading this.

     Needless to say, I am a bit skeptical that he will reply to me or even read my e-mail and have it register in his mind. My idea to make a shout out at the end to my fellow op-ed blogger came to me out of nowhere, and I think it may make all the difference in the hopes of a reply. (At least that is what I am telling myself.) And yes, I realize I seemed like a bit of a suck up in the e-mail, but I doubt a bit of ego-boosting will hurt my chances of getting a reply. On the contrary, I hope that it puts Joe in a good enough mood to reply to a random junior in high school who is writing a blog about him! 

     So, fingers crossed, dear minimal amount of readers! Hopefully the next time I open my e-mail account, I will be greeted by a reply from Joe Klein!

A Careless Man: George W. Bush

A Careless Man. George W. Bush's memoir is telling and well written, but his overmatched presidency was a mess.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2030739,00.html

        Joe Klein certainly does not refrain from making a claim in his article revolving around George W. Bush's recently released presidential memoir. However, I am having a bit of difficulty discerning what claim is to be used as his "claim sentence." Therefore, it is proving equally difficult to pinpoint a concession. At points in the article, Klein gives praise for various aspects of Bush and his presidency. Likewise, he also condemns the former Commander-in-Chief for having a waste of a presidency. Like me, Klein seems to be unable to decide what to do. Therefore, I am forced to turn to the varying fonts and font sizes on page 29 of Time Magazine. Thankfully, whoever edited good ole Joe's work seemed to decide that his claim is this sentence:

 "Bush breezes through fundamental and earth-shattering decisions without slowing to acknowledge their moral complexity."

       These words were worthy of being enlarged and placed in their own personal corner of the print edition of Time in addition to joining their less than fabulous buddies in the actual article. Thank God I receive the magazine in print, or I may have been forced to search fruitlessly for a ridiculous amount of time before conceding that I could not decide and subsequently choosing a sub-par sentence as Klein's claim. Commence prayers of thanksgiving. 

        Now that I have decided on a claim, it should be fairly simple to decide on a concession, unfortunately I will have to quote more than one sentence to convey it in a manner that gets the point across.

"Bush's effort is all that, but better than most. It reads well. The anecdotes are occasionally revealing. There is emotion, and it is real."

        This is most definitely an appropriate concession because it is a complete contrast from the claim, and in other respects, Bush's presidency. Klein decides that the memoir flows correctly whereas the 8-year term flowed with an air of haste and waste. 

The Support

1. "At the most important moments of his presidency — most notably, the decision to go to war in Iraq — he refuses to honestly consider opposing points of view or see the long-term, ancillary effects of what he is deciding."

2. "It was an understandable reaction, but an emotion he never quite transcended or transformed into strategic thought."  

• This quote immediately follows the statement that Klein quoted from Bush after he found out about the 9/11 disaster. Bush remained in the Florida class where the students were reading "The Pet Goat." Klein describes the President as "impassive." Shouldn't this be seen as a bit of an alarm for future voters in the 2004 election? Was he in shock? I have no idea. I wasn't there when Bush heard the news, but I hope for the sake of our country that his lack of obvious emotion was shock and not, well, a lack of obvious emotion. 
• Klein highlights the absence of a mention of the tip from the Clinton national-security team about the possible interferences from al-Qaeda in the memoir. In all fairness, I can only imagine the number of empty threats the President has to deal with. One tip would not cause me to go to war either.
• What?!? There was a second tip, from the CIA this time, on August 6, 2001 that warned of an al-Qaeda attack on the homeland? Hindsight is 20/20, but a second - dare I say - credible threat reached the ears of the presidency and he still didn't do anything of consequence. 
• Klein also points out that Bush "never stops to wonder" that perhaps the U.N. inspectors were being allowed in to Iraq by Saddam Hussein because the weapons of mass destruction did not in fact exist. Klein gained some respect points from yours truly for his appropriate and rather humorous utilization of sarcasm here.

3. "Bush's was an exhausting presidency that will, I suspect, be remembered more for its waste — of time, lives, money, moral standing and economic strength — than for anything else."

      I can honestly say that I agree with Joe on this one. Upon reviewing the article, I'll admit that Bush's presidency seemed to be lacking in a way that will never be reconciled. However, I also have to give credit where credit is due. Bush was the President! I assume that position if nothing if not stressful, and it is completely impossible to be liked by everyone. There is always going to be some opposition somewhere, and when there isn't, well, I hope I'm still around, if only so I can comment on someone else's opinion of the event in this blog. Bush was not a great military force to be reckoned with like Andrew Jackson nor was he an adequate military leader who stepped back when a more suitable general came along like Abraham Lincoln. Bush will most likely be remembered, if at all, by his failures and not by his successes. It most be difficult for Bush to bear the knowledge that even when he thought he was doing what's best, he wasn't. And because of his job, his mistakes will not be forgotten in his lifetime. 

The Deficit-Reduction Obsession

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031958,00.html

Joe Klein's article revolves around the obsession our nation's leaders seem to have with "balancing the budget" while remaining strident in their counterproductive lack of job creation.

          The recent release of a budget-balancing proposal from the Obama deficit-reduction commission co-chairman has raised a question among those savvy enough to comment on the recent proposal. Should our country focus on dispelling the long-term debts of war and international trade, or should the closer-to-home national economic crisis be addressed first? Before reading this article, I viewed these two economic issues as one in the same. To my knowledge, each played an equally dominant role in the fiscal strife our nation is experiencing. 

         Nay, says Joe Klein. According to the op-ed writer, our country can only ever be financially secure after first addressing the problems within our borders. Klein writes that "finding a way to encourage productive investment that creates jobs while discouraging the financial speculation that creates bailouts" is the direction in which we should be heading. He takes it upon himself to inform his readers of the current events of our nation because (well, it's his job and) it is his country too. He holds a position in which his views influence many people, and he honors himself by presenting his opinions in a manner that does not discourage his readers. Klein clearly states his opinion, but he also rationalizes the issue by respecting the opposing stance that wishes for long-term deficit-reduction first. 

Klein's Persuasive Details: 

1. Klein mentions 3 recent presidencies that engulf the adult life span of most of his readers. He respectfully acknowledges their success while clarifying where each went wrong.

2. He also uses rhetorical questions to indirectly plant his opinion in his reader's mind. 

3. Klein gives reliable examples of politicians who are wrong in their ways according to him. He does not mimic his pop-culture counterparts who commonly refer to a source as "a close friend" or "a reliable source." Klein's evident research forms a bed of comfort and reliability. 

4. Klein points out where Glenn Hubbard, George W. Bush's former chief economic adviser, contradicts himself. 

5. Klein clearly presents what he thinks needs to be done, and it is not in any way ridiculous.

How did Klein effectively portray his opinions while drawing his reader in? Rhetorical questions, of course. What better way is there to include the reader and befriend them to physically include them in the conversation? Except, of course, the reader is not really included because the questions are rhetorical. And they are subsequently answered in the following sentences by the questioner himself. But no matter; the sentiment was there.

The Talented Joe Klein

JOE KLEIN: The Man Behind the Magazine

Joe joined the TIME Magazine team in January 2003, and he is currently a senior writer for the national magazine.

Joe's column, "In the Arena," appears weekly in TIME Magazine in the "Notebook" section. His writings revolve around national and international affairs. Klein occasionally adds his two cents to The New Yorker where he has been Washington correspondent since 1996. Klein dabbled in television with CBS News (1992-1996) and WGBH-TV Boston (1972). His talent stretched to Rolling Stone from 1975-1980 where he was also the Washington bureau chief from 1975-1977. In the early nineties, Klein had a column in Newsweek called "Public Lives."

Klein earned a degree in American civilization from The University of Pennsylvania. He is a former Guggenheim fellow, and Klein is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His current residence is in Westchester County, New York where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Joe's Published Works:
1.Primary Colors, a novel inspired by the 1992 political race,  was written by Klein as "Anonymous."
2. Last March, Klein published The Natural: Bill Clinton's Misunderstood Presidency.
3. Klein has written two nonfiction books: Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam (1984) and Woody Guthrie: A Life (1980).
4. Klein published The Running Mate in 2000. This was his second political novel.