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Unconventional wisdom : facts and myths about American voters / Karen M. Kaufmann, John R. Petrocik, Daron R. Shaw

Catalog Data

Author:
Kaufmann, Karen M. 1959-  Search this
Petrocik, John R. 1944-  Search this
Shaw, Daron R. 1966-  Search this
Physical description:
viii, 263 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
2008
Contents:
Facts and myths about American voters : an introduction -- Americans hate to love their party, but they do! -- Are American voters polarized? -- Who swings? -- Soccer moms and other myths about the gender gap -- The young and not-so-restless voters -- The partisan bias of turnout -- Campaign effects in the twenty-first century -- Hard facts and conventional wisdom as we look to the future
Summary:
Late deciders go for the challenger; turnout helps the Democrats; the gender gap results from a surge in Democratic preference among women--these and many other myths are standard fare among average citizens, political pundits, and even some academics. But are these conventional wisdoms--familiar to anyone who watches Sunday morning talk shows--really valid? Unconventional Wisdom offers a novel yet highly accessible synthesis of what we know about American voters and elections. It not only provides an integrated overview of the central themes in American politics--parties, polarization, turnout, partisan bias, campaign effects, swing voters, the gender gap, and the youth vote--it upends many of our fundamental preconceptions.
Topic:
Voting  Search this
Elections  Search this
Politics and government  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1037193