Product Description: A widespread perception exists among political commentators, campaign operatives and presidential candidates that vice presidential (VP) running mates can deliver their home state's electoral votes in a presidential election. In recent elections, presidential campaigns have even changed their strategy in response to the perceived VP home state advantage...read more

Product Description: The 2016 presidential race is arguably already over in 40 states and the District of Columbia. If recent presidential election trends are any indication of what will happen in 2016, Democrats in Texas and Republicans in New York might as well stay home on election day because their votes will matter little in the presidential race...read more

Over the past twenty years, presidential candidates have developed an entertainment talk show strategy in which they routinely chat with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, and Jon Stewart. In fact, between 1992 and 2012, there have been more than 200 candidate interviews on daytime and late night talk shows with nearly every presidential candidate―from long shot primary contender to major party nominee―hitting the talk show circuit at some point during the campaign. This book explores the development of the entertainment talk show strategy and assesses its impact on presidential campaigns. The chapters mix detailed narrative with extensive empirical data on audiences, content, viewer reaction, and press coverage to explain why candidates have embraced this strategy and the conditions under which these interviews are most likely to meet their expectations. The book also explores how these interviews can enhance campaigns by connecting a critical segment of the voting population with candidates who provide useful political information in a casual setting. Talk Show Campaigns shows that this is more than a gimmick―it’s a key part of how candidates communicate with voters, which reveals a lot about how campaigns have changed over the past two decades.

Product Description: When will the United States elect its first woman president? Many political observers believed that Hillary Clinton would win the White House in 2008, and many still believe she is a strong contender for 2016. Yet, while many believe that electing the first woman president is not a question of if, but who and when, media speculation on the topic has yet to move it from an interesting talking point to political reality...read more

Product Description: Voter perceptions of the personal traits of presidential candidates are widely regarded to be important influences on the vote. Media pundits frequently explain the outcome of presidential elections in terms of the personal appeal of the candidates...read more

Product Description: This book addresses the peculiarities of the current presidential election system not yet addressed in other publications. It argues that any rules for electing a President that may have a chance to replace the current ones should provide an equal representation of states as equal members of the Union, and of the nation as a whole...read more

Product Description: Political Magic is the story of how Bill Clinton's lifelong friends--the Arkansas Travelers--helped the governor of a small state become president of the United States. This engaging and amusing story tells how the Travelers personalized politics and made a difference in Bill Clinton's election and also went to work for Hillary Clinton in her 2008 bid for president...read more

This study proposes and assesses an alternative explanation of the changes in the relationship between presidential and House of Representatives election results during the last century. Jeffrey M. Stonecash argues that the separation of presidential and House election results that occurred from the 1960s to 1980 was a party-driven process, with both parties seeking to change their electoral base. Republicans sought a more conservative electoral base to counter what they saw as disturbing liberal trends in the nation. Democrats sought to reduce their reliance on the South and its conservativism. Presidential and House election results changed at different rates, creating an appearance that they were unconnected, but they eventually came together. Although many saw these changes in election results as evidence of parties' decline, this study reaffirms their position as central actors in bringing about change.

Product Description: This is the first book on the U.S. presidential election system to analyze the basic principles underlying the design of the existing system and those at the heart of competing proposals for improving the system. The book discusses how the use of some election rules embedded in the U...read more

Updated with new readings on the war in Iraq, the war on terror, the frontloaded nomination process, and President Bush’s place in history, the new edition of this popular reader gives students the analytical tools needed to make sense of the modern presidency and its relationship with other key players in our political system.   The selections in this reader were chosen with two aims in mind: (1) to provide a historical perspective, so often neglected in similar texts, that explains how the events of the past two centuries led us to where we are today, and (2) to present the most important current issues that are shaping the Bush administration and the presidency more broadly. This collection of readings offers students a combination of “classic” scholarly analyses, the best of current scholarship, and engaging insights into the nature of the contemporary presidency. 

Product Description: The electoral college system has evolved continuously since the first presidential election. Despite a number of close contests, this arrangement has selected the candidate with the most popular votes in 48 of 52 presidential elections since the current voting system was established...read more