Synopses & Reviews
Featuring the writers and editors of THE NEW REPUBLIC, this handbook for the 2008 presidential election contains information every citizen needs as we head into the primaries. THE NEW REPUBLIC'S Election 2008: A Voters Guide includes deeply reported, psychologically rich profiles of candidates and a compendium of facts and figures about the hopefuls. Marked throughout by the irreverent wit, style, and intelligence of THE NEW REPUBLIC, this will be the indispensable guide to the 2008 election season.
Election 2008: A Voters Guide features:
· Ryan Lizza on Barack Obamas real guru
· Michael Crowley on Hillary Clintons views of war and peace
· Jonathan Cohn on Mitt Romneys uncomfortable relationship with his father
· Thomas B. Edsall on Rudy Giulianis unlikely appeal
· Jason Zengerle on John Edwardss populist reinvention
· Michelle Cottle on the masculine charms of Fred Thompson
· Noam Scheiber on the many conversions of Sam Brownback
· John B. Judis on the electoral trends that will determine the next president
Review
and#8220;The best book available on the electoral college. Edwards has crafted an entirely new and up-to-date book. He provides both an excellent review of the workings of the electoral college and an incisive analysis of the failings of the institution.and#8221;and#8212;Marty Wattenberg, University of California, Irvine
Review
and#8220;The most exquisitely precise and thorough case ever made for abolition of the electoral college system and substitution of a direct vote.and#8221;and#8212;Neal R. Peirce, from the foreword
Review
"An argumentative treatise, based on solid empirical data and sound logic, this book should generate considerable debateand#8212;the kind that the country should have had following the election of 2000 and Bush v. Gore."and#8212;Stephen Wayne, Georgetown University
Review
and#8220;Iand#8217;ve come across few books as timely or as relevant as the one in which Professor Edwards suggests that the country now finds itself confronted not only with an absence of a coherent national politics but also with a constitutional crisis. . . . Edwards sets out to prove that the Electoral College is both needlessly complex and inherently unjust. . . . His principal lines of argument deserve extensive debate in both the news media and the Congress.and#8221;and#8212;Lewis H. Lapham, Harperand#8217;s Magazine
Review
and#8220;Edwards . . . throws the kitchen sink, the stove and some old socks at the Electoral College. . . . His case is compelling. . . . [A] meticulous analysis.and#8221;and#8212;Glenn C. Altschuler, New York Observer
Review
and#8220;Edwards . . . methodically presents the case for eliminating the electoral college and replacing it with national popular elections. With excellent descriptions of how the elector system works, it is the most cogent and up-to-date criticism I have read. . . . The case that Edwards builds against the electoral college is strong, even overwhelming. Why the Electoral College is Bad for America will be widely cited in debates about our method of electing presidents.and#8221;and#8212;Alexander Keyssar, New York Review of Books
Review
and#8220;This crisp handbook . . . outlines the origins of the electoral college . . . and demonstrates the many ways it violates democratic norms.and#8221;and#8212;New Yorker
Review
and#8220;Edwards offers a robust critique of the intricate device underpinning presidential elections. . . . A worthy, well-argued contribution to the debate.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
"Time will tell whether the argument that the current system is so flawed and dangerous that the nation needs a constitutional amendment establishing a national direct election can gain momentum. But Edwards makes that case forcefully, as well or better than any other I know, and that is a genuine service."and#8212;Brian J. Gaines, Rhetoric and Public Affairs
Review
and#8220;The most exquisitely precise and sweeping case Iand#8217;ve ever seen for abolition of the Electoral College and adopting a straightforward vote of the people.and#8221;and#8212;Neal Peirce, Seattle Times
Review
“[An] excellent new book.”—Timothy Noah, Slate Neal Peirce - Seattle Times
Review
and#8220;[An] excellent new book.and#8221;and#8212;Timothy Noah, Slate
Synopsis
Americans currently choose their president through the electoral college, an extraordinarily complex mechanism that may elect a candidate who does not receive the most votes. In this provocative book, George Edwards III argues thatcontrary to what supporters of the electoral college claimthere is no real justification for a system that might violate majority rule.
Drawing on systematic data, Edwards finds that the electoral college does not protect the interests of small states or racial minorities, does not provide presidents with effective coalitions for governing, and does little to protect the American polity from the alleged harms of direct election of the president. In fact, the electoral college distorts the presidential campaign so that candidates ignore most small states and some large ones and pay little attention to minorities, and it encourages third parties to run presidential candidates and discourages party competition in many states.
Edwards demonstrates effectively that direct election of the president without a runoff maximizes political equality and eliminates the distortions in the political system caused by the electoral college.
Synopsis
The typical legislative strategy for recent presidents has been to move Congress by winning public support. George Edwards analyzes hundreds of public opinion polls and finds that this strategy usually fails. He explains why presidents are frequently unable to move public opinion and suggests they use other means to achieve legislative success.
"That presidents use the bully pulpit to exert influence in Washington is a truism of American Politics. What Edwards finds in this remarkable book is that the truism isnt true, that presidentseven those at the top of their formpersistently fail to move public sentiment in preferred directions."James A. Stimson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"Every serious scholar and student of American politics should read this book."Robert Y. Shapiro, Columbia University
"Edwards has done it again! A bold, direct, convincing challenge to 30 years of literature."-Richard E. Neustadt, author of Presidential Power
Synopsis
Thoroughly revised and updated, with an extensive analysis of the 2008 election, this book remains the best analysis of the Electoral College for both students and general readers.
and#8220;The best book available on the electoral college. Edwards provides both an excellent review of the workings of the electoral college and an incisive analysis of the failings of the institution.and#8221;and#8212;Marty Wattenberg, University of California, Irvine
"A wonderfully accessible discussion of every aspect of the system by which presidents are elected in the United States. . . . Edwards's book will be of interest to scholars and instructors focusing on the presidency (both currently and historically), as well as campaigns and elections."and#8212;David A. Dulio, Historian
About the Author
"An argumentative treatise, based on solid empirical data and sound logic, this book should generate considerable debatethe kind that the country should have had following the election of 2000 and
Bush v. Gore."Stephen Wayne, Georgetown University
"Dispensing keen political insights as he goes, George Edwards punctures the fallacious arguments used by supporters of the electoral college whenever criticism of that splendid anachronism grows hot, as it once again has."Jack Rakove, Coe Professor of History and American Studies and Professor of Political Science, Stanford University