The Presidential Election - Essay Example

This is stated to be because pre-campaign voter decisions are made which form the basis of the later campaign decisions. Furthermore, things that are common to all elections factor in to form the final outcome. The most amazing thing about this is that the process is not obvious to the common eye. There is a certain amount of chaos surrounding presidential campaigns. Each candidate brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table. Furthermore, their individual strategies and the way they address the media differ, and each approach situations in different ways and bring up different issues.

Not only that, but all of these approaches and strategies shift throughout the campaign as each candidate attempts to appeal to the American people throughout the components of the different stages of the campaign. The aforementioned facts are all made possible by the theory of the predictable presidential campaign. The first component of the theory states that campaigns have limited effects. The second component claims that the contexts for campaigns are in place prior to elections and that they set the outcome for the election.

The third component claims that presidential campaigns themselves are so vigorous that they narrow the gap between the candidates naturally. Chapter 3 is Chapter 3 Main Points and Summary Chapter 3 is comprised of a discussion of several conceptual and methodological issues. The empirical analysis lays the groundwork for the rest of the discussions in the book thanks to this chapter. Central concepts are defined and data are discussed. The general election and its components and main issues are discussed in this chapter.

The chapter also discusses the beginning of the general election campaign, systematic and unsystematic changes and what causes them and their effects, and real and transitory campaign effects. Another component of this chapter is the background of general elections taking place between 1948 and 2004. Drawing on the results of these elections, the effects of the campaigns on the votes, their overall effect, and whether or not it was systematic is also discussed.Chapter 4 Main Points and Summary Chapter 4 takes a look at precisely why most campaigns are predictable.

This is made possible by examining voter commitments as a stable pre-campaign base. This is based on the fact that many voters have already been classified as decided before the campaign even begins. Furthermore, there is virtually nothing that any other candidate can do throughout the course of his or her campaign to swing these voters' pre-determined decisions. This can be caused by the influence of a particular candidate's previous work.