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Explaining the Horse Race of 2008

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2009

Suzanna Linn ,
Jonathan Moody  and
Stephanie Asper
Suzanna Linn
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Jonathan Moody
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
Stephanie Asper
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
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Extract

October 2, 2008, the New York Times presidential campaign coverage carried the headline “Poll Finds Obama Gaining Support and McCain Weakened in Bailout Crisis.” Similarly, the headline on October 21 read “Obama Appeal Rises in Poll; No Gains for McCain Ticket.” The 2008 presidential election, more so than any previous campaign, was presented as a horse race between senators Barack Obama and John McCain. In the midst of president George W. Bush's plummeting approval ratings, a growing discontent among the American people about the continued U.S. presence in Iraq, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression, the media did not cast the election as a debate about issues. Rather, the 2008 election was about the candidates' relative positioning, how they got there, and what strategies they would employ to secure victory.

Type
Symposium
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 459 - 465
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 2009

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