The 2000 Presidential Election and the Foundations of Party Politics (Communication, Society and Politics)

Campaigns suddenly seem to matter, as do questions about the electoral process in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. The authors examine the U.S. electoral process as an integrated event spanning a full year, drawing upon the Annenberg 2000 Election Study. The scale of their fieldwork is such that they have been able to isolate key turning points and that dynamics can be studied within certain segments. Johnston, Hagen and Jamieson have also utilized candidate appearances, news coverage, and campaign advertising to provide this integrated account of a U.S. campaign. Richard Johnston is Professor and Head of Political Science at the University of British Columbia and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is co-author of Letting the People Decide (Stanford University Press, 1992) and The Challenge of Direct Democracy (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996). Michael G. Hagen is Associate Research Professor and Director of the Center for Public Interest Polling at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. He is co-author of Race and Inequality: A Study in American Values (Chatham House, 1986) and a contributor to Reasoning and Choice: Explorations in Political Psychology (Cambridge, 2003). Kathleen Hall Jamieson is Ware Professor of Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She is author or co-author of twelve books on politics and media including Packaging the Presidency (Oxford University Press, 1988). In the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election, campaigns suddenly seem to matter, as do questions about the electoral process. Professors Johnston, Hagen and Jamieson have examined the US electoral process as an integrated event spanning a full year, drawing upon a data set that is massive in scale and novel in execution: the Annenberg 2000 Election Study. The scale of their fieldwork is such that they have been able to isolate key turning points and that dynamics can be studied within certain segments. The interviews are rich in opinion about policy, perception, information and judgement about candidates, media use and strategy. What is more, the authors have used candidate appearances, news coverage, and campaign advertising to provide the first integrated account of this or any US campaign. The US electoral process is examined as an integrated event spanning a full year, drawing upon a data set massive in scale and novel in execution: the Annenberg 2000 Election Study. Using candidate appearances, news coverage, and campaign advertising, this provides the first integrated account of any US campaign. Based on statistics gathered in the Annenberg 2000 Election Study & extensive interviews, the authors have compiled a comprehensive account of the 2000 presidential election, tracing the development of the rival campaigns throughout the year up to polling day Richard Johnston, Michael G. Hagen, Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 193-200) And Index. This book aims to unite two research traditions that are usually seen as competing.