The book discussed how contemporary political campaigns are increasingly sensitive to candidate-centered appeals, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of their own candidate to determine how their personalities, backgrounds, and likability and background fit into a campaign narrative, theme, and issue agenda.

The book discussed how contemporary political campaigns are increasingly sensitive to candidate-centered appeals, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of their own candidate to determine how their personalities, backgrounds, and likability and background fit into a campaign narrative, theme, and issue agenda.

Every presidential election since 1964 has been won by the candidate backed by the most united party; yet as party unity has become more important to voting decisions, it has also become increasingly difficult to achieve. In his latest book, Martin Wattenberg offers an in-depth interpretation of the presidential elections of the 1980s, illuminating current theories of political behavior and how they operate in today's candidate-centered politics. Wattenberg investigates the impact that political parties' declining relevance has had on presidential politics. As the parties' ability to polarize opinion weakened and voters were set politically adrift, the candidates themselves had to fill the power vacuum. Interestingly, as the candidates have become more prominent, their popularity has spiraled downward. Wattenberg's national survey data debunks the notion of Reagan as the "teflon president;' demonstrating that many negative judgments stuck to Reagan's public image throughout the 1980s, particularly the criticisms of his conservative policies. The author's intricate analysis shows that many people were torn between candidates whose policies they preferred and those who they thought would produce the best results, and these contradictory attitudes were primarily resolved in favor of Reagan and Bush. This book is not only the successor volume to the author's widely used book on American parties, it is also a controversial and thought-provoking commentary on American parties, politics, and representative government.

Throughout the contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, politicians and voters alike worried that the outcome might depend on the preferences of unelected superdelegates. This concern threw into relief the prevailing notion that—such unusually competitive cases notwithstanding—people, rather than parties, should and do control presidential nominations. But for the past several decades, The Party Decides shows, unelected insiders in both major parties have effectively selected candidates long before citizens reached the ballot box. Tracing the evolution of presidential nominations since the 1790s, this volume demonstrates how party insiders have sought since America’s founding to control nominations as a means of getting what they want from government. Contrary to the common view that the party reforms of the 1970s gave voters more power, the authors contend that the most consequential contests remain the candidates’ fights for prominent endorsements and the support of various interest groups and state party leaders. These invisible primaries produce frontrunners long before most voters start paying attention, profoundly influencing final election outcomes and investing parties with far more nominating power than is generally recognized.

A candid glimpse into the world of election campaigns from the nineteenth century to the present. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Political Campaigns is intended for use in courses dealing with political parties, campaigns and elections, or interest groups. In one integrated text, this book covers the history and contemporary organization of political parties, the nature of the electoral system and modern American election campaigns, and the activities of interest groups. The central theme of this book is that the actions of political parties and interest groups are no longer played out in separate spheres of the political world, but are increasingly bound together. Nowhere is the overlap of interest group and party activity more apparent than in the modern political campaign.The book is organized around the idea that modern political campaigns link political parties and interest groups. Both political parties and interest groups have been forced to adapt to the changing circumstances of American politics in the contemporary era. Election campaigns have become more candidate-centered, increasingly driven by polls and media coverage, and fueled by staggering amounts of money. Political parties have adapted to these circumstances by becoming more proficient at providing the services that candidates require in modern campaigns, while interest groups have adapted by applying the style and techniques of election campaigns to their own political issue campaigns run by hired assistants from the worlds of public relations, polling, and campaign management.Part One explains the history and development of political parties in the United States, the contemporary organization of the major parties, and the electoral environment in which the parties compete. Part Two ties political parties to modern campaigns, with special emphasis on recent presidential and congressional elections, and examines the problems of campaign finance. Part Three links interest groups to political parties through the bridge of political campaigns. Interest groups are examined as they participate in candidate-centered campaigns, issue campaigns, and interest group lobbying campaigns.

"The most comprehensive textbook I have read on American political parties. Written before the current partisan impasse, the book does much to clarify the extremely fluid and often fragile structure of our two major parties--parties that, in comparison with their European counterparts, have relatively weak ties to social classes and religious groups."--New York Review of Books