One important way to judge what a presidential candidate might do if elected is to look at his record while in office-his publicly announced positions and his skill in commanding loyalty, wielding authority, and winning public support. But it is also important to look at the networks of campaign contributors, lobbyists, political organizations, and policy […]
Money, Politics, and Power
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The New Map of American Politics
The Pacific coast is becoming more Democratic, the Mountain States more Republican—and the South is back up for grabs. Migration is changing America’s electoral geography, and Democrats may yet come out the winners.
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The Successor Generation
If the profusion of legacy candidates this election season is any indication, having a political pedigree can do wonders for your electoral chances. As we hurtle toward the possibility of the first all second-generation presidential race, it’s time to ask: Do dynastic advantages trample democratic fairness?
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How Low Can You Go?
HAPPINESS IS . . . According to The Economist, PaineWebber has created an index of “happiness” for bonds that goes up when unemployment rises. If others would only follow this example and strike a blow against hypocrisy, we could have a series of more accurate social indicators: an index of happiness for hospitals that jumps […]
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Why Bush Won’t Be Nominated
Did he inhale? Did he duck the draft? Whom does he remind you of?
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Exhuming McCarthy
By encouraging Joe McCarthy and his red baiting tactics in the 1950s, conservatives embarrassed themselves. Emboldened by new evidence, they’re going to embarrass themselves again.
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Up From Bipartisanship
Support for center-right bipartisan government is both misleading and dangerous. It fails to address the problems of the economically stressed, gives them no reason to vote, and could render the Democrats irrelevant.
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How Low Can You Go?
Gambling on the Presidency T he College of Business Administration at the University of Iowa runs the Iowa Electronic Market, a futures market on this year’s presidential election. Anyone can buy a contract on President Clinton, the yet-to-be-designated Republican candidate, or someone else. It’s a winner-take-all market: Contracts on the winner pay off at $1 […]
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Associations Without Members
Civic America has changed. The local forms of participation have faded, and new national advocacy organizations relying on direct mail fundraising have mushroomed. While there are some benefits to the new forms of advocacy, the shift has hurt our shared sense of democratic citizenship.