Ellie

   Choosing a leader that will do the right thing in the people's eyes is hard to do. That's why this debate made it difficult to choose. All three public relation people did a fantastic job. But done did better than others.
   Antony, the board game was clever and got the point across. The gold coin idea was also a great idea butt backfired greatly. If the purpose was to have more chocolate coins handed out than "fake" coins, then that should've happened. Both of these presentation had great potential buy could've also been supported better with text.
   Brutus, the people supporting Brutus had great ideas. The first day was a mirror, telling us the look in it and see what we were made of. This got the point across and created a good example to vote for Brutus. The second day was the Brutus bars. These were cute and got to the point. They showed that there are good thing to come with Brutus, unlike with the other 2. Although there was a acute representation of text these presentations and objects were cute and to the point.
   Cassius, Elisa had an awesome concept. The looking glasses on the first day persuaded me to consider Cassius. The voodoo dolls were a great idea, and gave people a chance to consider the influences of the other candidates. The second day bag of fate was also a great concept. Reading the bad things of the other candidates influenced me to consider Cassius even more. All together both days had support from the text and made Cassius look like a great dude.
   All the candidates did a fantastic job and representing what they stood for and getting their points across well.

Cristian T.

Before the Debate i had my thoughts all set and was pretty sure who i was picking for the most suitable leader for Rome, but the candidates had a big influence towards my decision. While listening to the debate it was a constant battle in my mind, "Cassius is obviously the best leader" "On second thought, i think its Antony" "Well Brutus does make a point, he deserves it!". Each remark made by the candidates was better than the last and Each Candidate did amazingly well against each other.

My Priority list before the debate was Cassius, Antony, Brutus but my thoughts at the end were surprisingly different. I Chose Cassius as my first because he seemed like the best choice, Persuasive, Intelligent, Knowledgeable.Those 3 traits are what i thought put him at the top for, but Antony quickly made me think otherwise. Antony said that Cassius was manipulative, by making Brutus believe that Caesar was bad.But Cassius rebutted to that by saying that he was just bringing Brutus to a realization of his true potential.

Antony was my second priority because i believed he seemed like the most loyal even though he had a bit of a anger management problem. The other two candidates quickly influenced my opinion greatly by saying his bipolar problem was a great threat for a leader and that he would be unable to control his feelings ((III,i,289-290) "A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;...") Antony's rebuttal stated that it was only a emotional reaction to the killing of his best friend Caesar done by Cassius and Brutus.This rebuttal influenced me the greatest by his use of Pathos, stating "What if your best friend was killed and you had a chance to get vengeance? you would most likely do the same".

My last choice was Brutus, mostly because i thought he was a nitwit. The two candidates stated that he was sickly ((II,i,277)"I am not well in health, and that is all") and was persuaded easily. Brutus's rebuttal stated that being sickly was not at all bad and that it didn't take away from being a good leader. He also stated that he did everything for the people. I was hoping that Brutus would bring up that Cassius Deceived him ((II,1,48-49)"Brutus, thou sleep'st. Awake, and see thyself! Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress!") in order to both, Refute and and Rebute(?) at the same time.

My end choice for leader would have to be Antony, followed by Brutus, and last Cassius. Antony seemed like he would fit for leader the best because of his logical choices.Brutus was second because i felt he did base his choices for the people but his choices still weren't good enough. My last choice was Cassius because he seemed like the most devious and manipulative and overall seemed like a rather sneaky person not fit to be leader.

Vanessa L.

Choosing the best leader suitable to be the ruler of Rome has been difficult for me. Even though I had my mind set on none of them being suitable for the position but each one of them opened my eyes to look deeper into the context and what the words meant and looking at them in different ways I wouldn't even think of.

At first my thoughts on Anthony were of a loving and caring friend towards Caesar, he obeyed and respected Caesar doing exactly what Caesar ordered. Antony even said it himself “when Caesar says “do this,” it is performed(Act 1, Scene 2,line 13). But the mood dramatically changed when Antony found out Caesar had been murdered by the people who Caesar would have considered his friends. He changed into someone who was angry and craving vengeance for the murder of his beloved Caesar, “a curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all parts of Italy.. That this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men groaning from burial”(Act 3, Scene 1, lines 288-301). I found these words disturbing and frightening but during the advertisement presentation Antony admitted that he did in fact say all these things but it only means that he's human and as humans we regret what we sometimes say. I found this statement to appeal to Nomos making me feel that Antony is just like all the rest of us, human and persuading me into thinking that we are the same and have the same intentions for Rome. I found their arguments eye opening but Anthony would still not be my choice.

I never liked Cassius since the very beginning. He is a manipulating weasel who plants his own ideas into others mind making them do Cassius own dirty work while he watches from the shadows. Cassius did exactly that with Brutus sending him an anonymous letter convincing Brutus that killing Caesar is the best thing to do for the greater good for Rome. Brutus believes he is doing the best thing for Rome, “O Rome, I make thee promise, If the redress will follow, thou receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus”(Act 2, Scene 1, lines 59-61). The people that represented Cassius tried to make Cassius look like the actions he took were all for the people of Rome appealing to Pathos but it didn't fit right. Cassius does nothing for the people, he only looks out for himself and his own best interests.

The best choice for Rome would be Brutus. Most would say that Brutus is very easily manipulated and weak to say the least but Brutus just wants the best for Rome even if it meant killing Caesar. He always had good intentions. Cassius was the one who sent Brutus over the edge, planting ideas in his head which weren't entirely his own, and leaving Brutus to take the fall when things got bad. Nonetheless, Caesars murder was inevitable, the only question was who was going to do it. Brutus honored and loved Caesar but as he said in his funeral “not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more”(Act 3, Scene 2, lines 23-24). Brutus always had the people and Romes best interest at heart and that is why Brutus is the best choice.

Correction for Previous Post

Where it says 'After brief discussion' it should say 'After brief discussion following Caesar's assassination.' 

Jeremy's Editorial

Finding the least worst candidate to vote for is difficult, but I am going to vote for Cassius, mostly because I cannot take a trip in a TARDIS to a better place and age. Analysis of each of the three candidates follows below.

Antony: The representatives fail to address that he is a demagogue to the worst degree. Instead, the Media Relations representative used borderline-propaganda appeals of Nomos to make people think that Antony is the only true Roman whilst throwing dirt on the other leaders. They failed to sufficiently defend Antony for this quote: ‘Mischief, thou art afoot, // take thou what course thou wilt [to Rome]!’ and a similar monologue that he gave when Caesar died. They also failed to adequately address the chaos that Antony’s demagogic funeral speech - which was carefully crafted to create the most violent reaction from people - caused. They also failed to acknowledge that in the scene immediately after Antony wished for Rome to burn and ordered a servant to bring him the next man to prop up as leader to further Antony’s goals, a man was brutally murdered just because his name was that of one of the conspirators, Cinna. In addition, they did not address that either Antony is not very perceptive of threats or he is willing to sacrifice the people’s favourite leader for power; either he did not think that Cassius was a threat to Caesar, or he wanted Caesar to die so he could seize power. Either way, Antony’s overall behaviour is not that of a leader who loves his country and is a second coming of Caesar, it is that of a power-hungry demagogue who is a danger to Rome.

            Brutus: The representatives failed to address that Brutus is logically challenged, the biggest reason why he should not be elected. Instead, the representatives used borderline-propaganda appeals to patriotism (as Brutus did in his speech), pathos, and a distracting focus on perception to convince people to vote for Brutus. Brutus shows his logical impairment the most strongly at the beginning of Act II and onward. At the beginning of Act II, he says that Caesar should be killed because he could do some bad things because power could get to his head. That that uncertainty had such weight in Brutus’ mind that it was good enough proof to kill Caesar shows Brutus' inability to think things through properly. His reasoning after killing Caesar leaves much to be desired too. After brief discussion, Brutus basically said ‘Killing Caesar is the best thing we could do for him because now he does not need to worry about death. Now we need to convince the people that we are the good guys even though we killed their favourite leader. So, we should proclaim that we have ushered in an era of peace, freedom, and prosperity by getting our daggers and arms soaked in blood, wave said daggers above our heads while we are surrounded by fans of Caesar, and cry our message out to the masses like a bunch of mad men.’ It should be noted that Cassius thought that this was a good idea too. Brutus also thought that it would be a great idea to let Caesar’s right-hand man have the last say at his funeral. This decision led to the chaos that Antony’s speech created. Brutus makes patriotism look bad, and he should not be voted for.

            Cassius: Cassius is a conniving, manipulative rascal who kickstarted the events that led to Caesar’s assassination and the chaos that followed by planting ideas into Brutus’ brain. Whether that was part of a master plan is unknowable, but he is, unfortunately, the best candidate on the ballot, so vote for him, even though his representatives did not give much of a convincing argument (it mainly said that Cassius is determined and threw dirt on the other two candidates). He should be voted for because he had only a relatively minor role in events once he got them going. After that, he allowed Brutus to take control. Basically, vote for Cassius because not as much bad stuff can be said about him than the other candidates.

Political Cartoons Brantonio

     Hi you guys, these are my pictures for the political cartoons and I'll tell you why I chose these pictures to represent each candidate.

     For the first political cartoon, it is Cassius with a evil smirk while the people are killing Caesar in the background. I chose this picture for Cassius because in the play, he seems to be more manipulative rather than persuasive to people he has encountered.You got to admit, he has a way with words, but he would rather use manipulation to get what he wants. Would you want a leader who in his own personal agenda's want to lead through honest persuasion, not hidden manipulation? In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 60-68, Cassius states to Brutus," Tis just, and it is very lamented, Brutus, that you have no such mirrors as will turn your hidden worthiness into your eye that you might see your shadow. I have heard where many of the best respect in Rome, except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus and groaning underneath this age's yoke, have wish'd that noble Brutus had in his eyes." With this phrase, you could tell that he wants Brutus to join them and kill Caesar. But instead, he strokes Brutus' s ego by saying he would make a great leader than Caesar. Instead of simple persuasion, he instead uses manipulation to get what he wants. A leader must have the qualities to lead the people with the truth, and I'm sorry but Cassius is not one of them.

     The next one is about the honorable Brutus. Brutus is loyal and honorable so he should be leader, right? But Brutus has one major flaw, his honor manipulates and blind his actions. In this cartoon, you see the dog in the beggin strips commercial who wants a strip of bacon. Yum. But just imagine Brutus being that dog wanting a bone that says honor on it. A dog would want a juicy bone, so does Brutus but instead of power, it is honor. In the play, Brutus struggles to retain his honor. In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 320-322, Cassius states to Brutus," Well Brutus, thou art noble.Yet I see thy honorable mettle may be wrought from that it is disposed." Even when he killed Caesar with his knife, he believed it was the most honorable thing to do. Even so, killing a person who he or she trusts in you is not the honorable thing, just a cold betrayal. You see, Brutus is a good person who believes highly in honor, but it is that "honor" that manipulates him to do such monstrous deeds.

All about Antony @-@

Yesenia Cardenas

                                                               All about Antony

            Perhaps there isn’t a more power hungry character in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as Antony, Caesar’s supposed right-hand man. His actions and words after Caesar’s death are what make him into an undesirable leader for Rome.  At first, Antony appears to be the perfect wing man to Caesar saying things like,

When Caesar says “Do this,” it is performed. (I, ii, 13)

It makes Antony seem very loyal and dotting to Caesar. It appears that he wouldn’t make such a bad ruler. After that, Antony isn’t mentioned much save for comments on his undying loyalty to Caesar, but we already knew that. But, does it seem like a coincidence to say that after Caesar died is when Antony starts to show his true colors? At least to this Roman, Antony’s performance after Caesar’s death wasn’t at all convincing. When he speaks of Caesar, it seems as if he speaks of himself and his greatness, not of Caesars. Even with the supposed will of Caesar does he relish in the attention he gets from the crowd after being in Caesar’s shadow for so long. It says in the text,

            Will you be patient? Will you stay a while?

            I have o’ershot myself to tell you of it.

            I fear I wrong the honorable men

            Whose daggers have stabbed Caesar. I do fear it. (III, ii, 161-164)

As always throughout his speech, he manages to make it all about him. How he feels or how he is reacting rather than focusing on the people, who have first priority as they don’t have anyone to really rule them. To make matters worse, he obviously doesn’t like the people because as he descends to the public to read the will, the public gets excited and he says this,

            Nay, press not upon me. Stand far off. (III, ii, 179)

Of course, he should be worrying about other things but instead decides to worry about himself. With all of this in mind, I made the political cartoon to display Antony’s true character in the play and not the phony he’s trying to convince everyone of. While he is dressed “luxuriously”, the people are in dirty rags. And to top it all off he is being celebrated and carried by the people to show he thinks of himself as the one who truly matters in this entire dilemma. The question at the bottoms reads, “Is this Rome?” and it is place at the bottom where the people can see it so they rethink their feelings toward Antony. Because of this, Antony is one of the unsuitable successors for candidacy.