Synopses & Reviews
Change was the theme of the 2008 presidential election. In Winning the White House, 2008, the authors explore the historical and emerging voting patterns shaping this transformative election. After examining the selection of the Republican and Democratic nominees, they address the most compelling economic, social, and foreign policy concerns facing the electorate during the general election campaign. Surveying the electoral map, they then analyze how control of the White House and Congress hinged on the developing trends across the nations four main regions. Within regions, special attention is paid to the battleground states, voters, and issues that were central to Barack Obamas victory over John McCain.
Review
“2008 was the most important election in our lifetime, and this book has it all for the scholar, the journalist, the student, and just the general reader. It is packed with all the data I need for one-stop shopping, and also highly readable analysis. Above all, it allows me to relive the story--the very big story of this campaign. Highly recommended.”--John Zogby, President/CEO of Zogby International, a polling company, and author of The Way Well Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream
“Winning the White House, 2008 is a thoughtful and timely volume on one of the most important presidential elections in American history. Readers will appreciate the detailed discussion of both the national issues that dominated the campaign and the region-specific political dynamics that influenced the final outcome. This book should make its way into a lot of classrooms.”--Irwin L. Morris, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland
“An excellent and insightful assessment of why Obama won and why it matters. Winning the White House, 2008 is a winner!”--Benjamin Ginsberg, Bernstein Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University, and author of Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced
Synopsis
What does it take to win the White House? This book helps students understand both the issues and how and why people vote for one candidate. After discussing the dynamics of the primary campaigns, the authors examine three broad sets of issues that play a key role in voting: foreign policy, domestic policies, and the culture wars. This sets the foundations for an examination of regional similarities and differences in voting patterns, as the varying salience and valence of issues-whether general or specific-is explored across and within regions. Special attention is paid to battleground states. Drawing on concepts from political science, this book advances students' understanding both of the field and the phenomenon.
About the Author
Kevin J. McMahon, John R. Reitemeyer Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, is the author of Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown (Chicago, 2004), which won the American Political Science Associations Richard E. Neustadt Award for the best book published on the American presidency. He is also the co-author and co-editor of two other books on American Politics and the author of several journal articles and book chapters.
David Rankin, Associate Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York, Fredonia, teaches courses and conducts research on American politics, media and politics, elections, public opinion and political participation. He has coauthored, co-edited, and contributed to multiple books and journals on the topic of elections and the presidency, and is currently completing a book on the political attitudes and action of the Millennial generation. His analysis and commentary has been regularly featured in news media coverage of the presidential election.
Donald W. Beachler, Associate Professor of Politics at Ithaca College, teaches courses on American electoral politics, public policy, and Holocaust and genocide studies. He has published several articles on U.S. elections, southern politics, labor politics, and congressional redistricting. Recently, he has also published journal articles on genocide in Bangladesh and Cambodia.
John Kenneth White, Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, is the author of several books on American politics and governance. His latest, Barack Obama's America: How New Conceptions of Race, Family, and Religion Ended the Reagan Era, will be published by the University of Michigan Press in 2009.
Table of Contents
Part 1: The Nomination * Chapter 1: A Campaign To Remember, John Kenneth White * Part II: The Issues * Chapter 2: It was the Economy, Mostly, Donald W. Beachler * Chapter 3: The Foreign Policy Election That Wasnt, John Kenneth White * Chapter 4: Searching for the Social Issue, Kevin J. McMahon * Part III: The Regions * Chapter 5: The Northeast: Blue, Deep Blue Kevin J. McMahon * Chapter 6: The South: Winking at Dixie, Donald W. Beachler * Chapter 7: The Midwest: Middle Americas Margins, David M. Rankin * Chapter 8: The West: On the Electoral Frontier, David M. Rankin