The column by Tony Norman that I decided to read and edit is an opinion piece aimed at taking a second look at Jimmy Carter. His main point was why Americans, even Democrats, have been bashing Jimmy Carter since he lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Norman argues that while his term saw its fair share of turmoil, so did numerous other presidents including Barack Obama right now. He starts the column with a story about a photograph taken in 2009, two weeks before the inauguration of Obama, that featured five former Presidents in the Oval Office. The photo featured Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Carter, and Obama. I really enjoyed Norman's lead in to this column because by using this picture which shows the four other former Presidents engaged and talking while Carter is off to the side staring, he has already shown what his point of the column is through a photograph. I thought it was an excellent use of the older photo and really made the lead stand out and drew me in to read the remainder.
The story flows very well starting with the lead and working its way into some of the specific quotes Norman uses to illustrate his points.
"There's no doubt that among his peers, Mr. Carter is probably considered the "least successful" of their club, though he and the elder Bush served only one term each due to fractious primary challenges and events beyond their control."
This quote, which comes right after Norman's lead in, is integral in defining what the rest of this column will be about. If you still were certain after reading the lead it should be obvious Norman is exploring why Carter gets labeled the least successful President.
From an editing and grammatical standpoint there wasn't really anything that stood out to me that required fixing. As I stated earlier I believe this column flows extremely well. It is perfectly set up with an interesting and captivating lead and ends with a conclusion that sums everything up while also making the reader think differently about the subject that he just wrote about. The lead and conclusion act as perfect bookends to the meat of the column which is filled with Norman's thoughtful opinions.
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/tony-norman/2014/03/28/Tony-Norman-Jimmy-Carters-deserves-a-second-look/stories/201403280075
The story flows very well starting with the lead and working its way into some of the specific quotes Norman uses to illustrate his points.
"There's no doubt that among his peers, Mr. Carter is probably considered the "least successful" of their club, though he and the elder Bush served only one term each due to fractious primary challenges and events beyond their control."
This quote, which comes right after Norman's lead in, is integral in defining what the rest of this column will be about. If you still were certain after reading the lead it should be obvious Norman is exploring why Carter gets labeled the least successful President.
From an editing and grammatical standpoint there wasn't really anything that stood out to me that required fixing. As I stated earlier I believe this column flows extremely well. It is perfectly set up with an interesting and captivating lead and ends with a conclusion that sums everything up while also making the reader think differently about the subject that he just wrote about. The lead and conclusion act as perfect bookends to the meat of the column which is filled with Norman's thoughtful opinions.
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/tony-norman/2014/03/28/Tony-Norman-Jimmy-Carters-deserves-a-second-look/stories/201403280075