Campaign Reform

by Vavreck, Lynn

• ISBN13: 9780472067312
• ISBN10: 0472067311
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

What is wrong with American political campaigns? How could the campaign process be improved? This volume brings the expertise of leading political scientists to the public debate about campaign reform. These scholars probe the reality behind the conventional wisdom that nasty, vacuous campaigns dominated by big money and cynical media coverage are perverting our political process and alienating our citizenry. Some of their conclusions will be startling to campaigners and critics alike. For example, "attack" advertisements prove to be no more effective than self-promotional advertisements, butaremore substantive. Indeed, candidates in their advertisements and speeches focus more on policy and less on strategy and process than any major news outlet, including theNew York Times. The volume suggests that, as a result, prospective voters in 1996 knew more about the candidates' issue positions than in any presidential election in decades, yet turnout and public faith in the electoral process continued to decline. For aspiring reformers, Bartels and his colleagues provide a bracing reality check. For students and scholars of electoral politics, political communication, and voting behavior, they provide an authoritative summary and interpretation of what we know about the nature and impact of political campaigns. The insights and evidence contained in this volume should be of interest to anyone concerned about the present state and future prospects of American electoral process. Larry M. Bartels is Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and Stuart Professor of Communications and Public Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Lynn Vavreck is Assistant Professor of Government, Dartmouth College. Other contributors are Bruce Buchanan, Tami Buhr, Ann Crigler, John G. Geer, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Marion Just, Daron R. Shaw, and John Zaller.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Campaign Quality: Standards for Evaluation, Benchmarks for Reform	1	(61)
Larry M. Bartels
Assessing Attack Advertising: A Silver Lining	62	(17)
John G. Geer
How Does It All ``Turnout''? Exposure to Attack Advertising, Campaign Interest, and Participation in American Presidential Elections	79	(27)
Lynn Vavreck
Watching the Adwatches	106	(16)
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Paul A. Waldman
Shifting the Balance: Journalist versus Candidate Communication in the 1996 Presidential Campaign	122	(23)
Marion Just
Tami Buhr
Ann Crigler
Is Reform Really Necessary? A Closer Look at News Media Coverage, Candidate Events, and Presidential Votes	145	(28)
Daron R. Shaw
Regime Support and Campaign Reform	173	(28)
Bruce Buchanan
Campaign Reform: Insights and Evidence Report of the Task Force Campaign Reform	201	(52)
Task Force Members	249	(4)
Index	253