Product Description: The 2008 U.S. election was arguably the most important election of our lifetime: the first African American president was elected to office; the candidacy of Sarah Palin marked only the second time that a major party ticket included a female; and the electoral performance of young citizens – digital natives, greatly attracted by digital media – signaled the highest turnout in a long time...read more

Product Description: Half of our eligible citizens fail to cast a presidential ballot and many more than half routinely ignore state and local elections. Does this phenomenon point to a crisis of democracy or does such behavior simply reflect indifference - or even contentment - among the public? Should we be alarmed that so many of our citizens seem disinterested and unwilling to participate in the various activities and forms of association that constitute civic life? If we are concerned by such matters, what might be done to reengage those who are seemingly disengaged? This book explores these questions and examines the well being of our civic condition at the beginning of the twenty-first century...read more

Before Florida, there was a campaign. Though traditional on many levels of communication among candidates, media, and voters, the 2000 campaign also featured new and innovative communication approaches in the presidential, Congressional, and state elections. The Millennium Election highlights some of the most important campaign communication from the 2000 contests, looking at candidates' political messages, the media's campaign coverage, the impact of the Internet, and the political socialization of young voters. The authors' diverse studies and viewpoints show that we still have much to learn about traditional candidate-voter interactions as well as new forms of political communication―and these forms must work together to engage a new generation of voters. (view table of contents)

An analysis of the various forms of political communicaton found in a presidential campaign and the effects of its messages on voters. The 1996 campaign, constructed through the interplay of candidate, media and citizen voices, is presented as a model that can be applied to any political campaign.

(view table of contents)