American Politics “homework”

Following the US elections closely over the summer should be an exercise that will bear fruit for students of US Politics

The summer break should, I think, be a break for those making the transition from AS to A2. And for this reason I have decided this year not to set any work to be submitted next term. But the summer months also provide a useful opportunity for time and space to think about the American elections.

Here a number of questions present themselves. The first set revolve around ideas about the nature of American democracy. Americans are fiercely proud of their system of government, viewing their country as a “shining city on a hill”, and have often resorted to force in an attempt to impose their vision of how government should be structured. On the latter point, Iraq springs to mind.

• Does the system for deciding who gets to be President work?
• Is the campaign too expensive?
• Do the voters in swing states have too much influence?
• Does the Electoral College need to be reformed?

Other questions relate to forming the basis of an answer students should be able to attempt on 5th November 2008: what factors determined the outcome of the presidential election?

There are a couple of important staging posts on the horizon in the next few weeks that students may want to pay close attention to.

Both the Obama and McCain camps should shortly put an end to speculation about who their respective running mates are going to be, and these announcements should occur before the National Party Conventions. These two events should prompt consideration of the importance of the running mate and the significance of the conventions in providing a poll boost for the two runners.

The strategies adopted by the two campaign teams should also be fascinating. On this note the remarkable shift in position that McCain has taken post primaries is the tale of the election at the moment. This week’s Economist ran an editorial on his apparent tacking to the right on issues such as immigration and tax. Traditionally candidates post primary steer towards the centre after taking up positions that appeal to their core constituencies through the winter and spring. But McCain has moved into areas that appeal to the conservatives in his party. Quite why he is doing this is difficult to fathom, and it might end being a masterstroke or the kiss of death to his chances of succeeding Bush.