Volume 124 - Number 3 - Fall 2009
Three Trends Over Eight Presidential Elections, 1980–2008: Toward the Emergence of a Democratic Majority Realignment? Demetrios James Caraley analyzes three key trends over the last eight presidential elections: the ending of party dealignment but without the emergence of a new majority party coalition, the geographic realignments making the South solid Republican and the Northeast and Pacific coast solid Democratic, and the volatility that has taken place among various politically relevant social and demographic groups. He also discusses whether the election of Barack Obama as president with the simultaneous election of solid Democratic majorities in the House and Senate signal a coming of a new majority Democratic realignment.
Volume 124 - Number 3 - Fall 2009
The Decline of the White Working Class and the Rise of a Mass Upper-Middle Class Alan Abramowitz and Ruy Teixeira document the dramatic decline in the white working class and discuss the complicated ways this decline has transformed American politics. They also discuss the emergence of a mass upper-middle class whose effects on American politics may be similarly complicated.
Volume 124 - Number 2 - Summer 2009
Presidential Travel from Eisenhower to George W. Bush: An “Electoral College” Strategy Emily Jane Charnock , James A. McCann , and Kathryn Dunn Tenpas examine patterns of presidential travel since the Eisenhower years, focusing on the factors that prompt visits to particular states during the first term. The authors argue that electoral considerations are becoming increasingly relevant as presidents decide where and when to travel.
Volume 124 - Number 2 - Summer 2009
What the New Deal Did David M. Kennedy revisits the New Deal’s relevance to our own time. He concludes that the stubborn persistence of the Great Depression through the decade of the 1930s opened the political space for the New Deal’s greatest accomplishments, all of which were aimed at reducing risk in key sectors of the economy and imparting a measure of security to American life for generations thereafter.
Volume 124 - Number 1 - Spring 2009
The Place of Inequality: Non-participation in the American Polity Joe Soss and LAWRENCE R. JACOBS argue that the widely held prediction that rising inequalities would motivate the disadvantaged to use their political rights seems to falter badly in the United States today. They present findings that demonstrate how inequality has reshaped participation patterns in the American polity.
Volume 123 - Number 4 - Winter 2008-09
George W. Bush and the Partisan Presidency Richard M. Skinner challenges notions that the strong presidency of the modern era has proved incompatible with powerful political parties. Instead, he argues that, since 1980, the United States has seen a dramatic growth in presidential partisanship across a range of areas.
Volume 123 - Number 4 - Winter 2008-09
The Political and Economic Forces Shaping Concentrated Poverty William Julius Wilson examines the racial and nonracial political forces as well as the impersonal economic forces that have adversely impacted inner-city areas. He suggests a new policy agenda that reflects an awareness and appreciation of the effects of systemic changes on poor urban neighborhoods.
Volume 123 - Number 3 - Fall 2008
Psychological Reflections on Barack Obama and John McCain: Assessing the Contours of a New Presidential Administration Stanley A. Renshon analyzes the probable psychological baseline contours of a Barack Obama or John McCain presidency. He explores the psychology, worldview, and approach to leadership that are likely to inform and shape the presidency of each candidate in the context of his own developmental history and the psychology of public expectations and concerns.
Volume 123 - Number 2 - Summer 2008
Incumbency Advantage in U.S. Presidential Elections: The Historical Record David R. Mayhew examines U.S. presidential elections from 1788 through 2004. He highlights the importance of incumbency advantage. He concludes that in-office parties have kept the White House two-thirds of the time when they have run incumbent candidates, but they have fared only 50-50 in open-seat elections.
Volume 123 - Number 1 - Spring 2008
On To the Convention!
