The Obama Victory How Media, Money, and Message Shaped the 2008 Election

by Kenski, Kate; Hardy, Bruce W.; Jamieson, Kathleen Hall

• ISBN13: 9780195399561
• ISBN10: 0195399560
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Barack Obama's stunning victory in the 2008 presidential election will go down as one of the more pivotal in American history. Given America's legacy of racism, how could a relatively untested first-term senator with an African father defeat some of the giants of American politics?

In The Obama Victory, Kate Kenski, Bruce Hardy, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson draw upon the best voter data available, The National Annenberg Election Survey, as well as interviews with key advisors to each campaign, to illuminate how media, money, and messages shaped the 2008 election. They explain how both sides worked the media to reinforce or combat images of McCain as too old and Obama as not ready; how Obama used a very effective rough-and-tumble radio and cable campaign that was largely unnoticed by the mainstream media; how the Vice Presidential nominees impacted the campaign; how McCain's age and Obama's race affected the final vote, and much more.

Briskly written and filled with surprising insights, The Obama Victory goes beyond opinion to offer the most authoritative account available of precisely how and why Obama won the presidency.

"The Obama Victory: How Media, Money and Message Shaped the 2008 Election is smart, groundbreaking and full of surprises. Despite all that's been written about the 2008 campaign, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Bruce Hardy and Kate Kenski have produced fresh, conclusive evidence of how rhetoric, themes, and unprecedented campaign spending--plus the Palin factor--explain the historic outcome. Sharply written and brilliantly documented, this is the book for anyone interested in politics."-Andrea Mitchell, NBC News

"This book provides critical documentation about the historic 2008 campaign. Summing Up: Highly recommended."-Choice

"Fifty years from now scholars studying how Barack Obama overcame the odds of winning the 2008 election may turn to this impeccably researched book with its detailed regressions of the impact of various factors on voter decisions. They will find a wealth of data, charts, and graphs; meticulous explanations of methodology; and carefully drawn conclusions."-Communication Research Trends

Author Biography

Kate Kenski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona and was a member of the National Annenberg Election Survey team in 2000, 2004, and 2008. She has published over twenty articles in political communication and is co-author of Capturing Campaign Dynamics (OUP 2004).
Bruce W. Hardy is a doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, a Senior Research Analyst in the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and a member of the 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey team.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, and Director of its Annenberg Public Policy Center. She has published many books, including Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment (OUP 2008) and the award-winning Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good (OUP 1997), both co-authored with Joseph N. Cappella.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Forces and Messages that Pervaded the Campaign
The Economy and the Unpopular Incumbent	p. 13
McSame versus the Tax-and-Spend Liberal	p. 27
McCain: Out of Touch/Too Old	p. 53
Obama: Not Ready to Lead	p. 71
Shifts in Momentum: Five Periods
Period One: McCain Gains Energy (June 7-August 22)	p. 109
Period Two: Impact of the Vice Presidential Selections and Conventions (August 23-September 9)	p. 123
The Impact of Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden	p. 149
Period Three: The Campaigns Confront the Economic Collapse (September 10-October 14)	p. 175
Period Four: The McCain Surge (October 15-28)	p. 203
Period Five: Be Very, Very Afraid/Be Reassured (October 29-November 4)	p. 233
The New Campaign Landscape
Absentee and Early Voting in the 2008 Campaign	p. 251
Spending Differences and the Role of Microtargeting	p. 265
The Effect of Messages	p. 287
Afterword	p. 303
Appendix	p. 315
Notes	p. 319
Index	p. 369
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.