Since 1960 the office of the vice presidency of the United States has evolved into a fundamentally different institution than the one the founders envisioned, attracting better-qualified aspirants who may be called upon to perform a variety of important tasks. This book offers a corrective to the overwhelmingly negative view that Americans have had of their vice presidents by demonstrating how the role has changed over time. In addition, Baumgartner examines those who were candidates for vice president but who were not elected. The book is organized thematically according to the career path of the vice president, from the selection process through campaign and nomination to election, service in office, and post-White House contributions.
John Adams famously called the vice presidency, the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived. Harry Truman called it, about as useful as a cow's fifth teat. How things have changed in a world where many consider Vice President Dick Cheney the most powerful figure in the current administration.
Since 1960 the office of the vice presidency of the United States has evolved into a fundamentally different institution than the one the founders envisioned, attracting better-qualified aspirants who may be called upon to perform a variety of important tasks. No longer a ceremonial figurehead or legislative drudge, the vice president today consults closely with the president and plays an important role in executive decisions. Those who are chosen as running mates are examined more thoroughly than ever before, not merely for the boost they might give the presidential candidate in the general election, but also for the kind of president they might be if fate called upon them to serve.
In a book that is as readable as it is fascinating, Baumgartner offers a corrective to the overwhelmingly negative view Americans have had of their vice presidents by demonstrating how the role has changed over time. Setting the stage with a visit to the Constitutional Convention and a brief look at pre-modern vice presidents, he examines the 19 men and one woman who have been vice presidents or candidates for the office since 1960. His insightful book is organized thematically according to the career path of the vice president-from the selection process through the campaign and nomination to election, service in office, and post-White House contributions.

The American Vice Presidency Reconsidered

Politics & Social Sciences

Baumgartner, Jody C.

Politics & Government

Praeger

Politics Is a Joke!: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life

Humor & Entertainment

Lichter, S. Robert

Morris, Jonathan S.

Television

Routledge

Over the past few decades, many students have developed misinformed opinions about the American electoral process, and Conventional Wisdom and American Elections was written to debunk some of the more common misunderstandings. This book's organization and structure complements courses on campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation, public opinion, the media, Congress, and the presidency. Topics include campaign finance, political participation and voting, the role of campaigns, Internet campaigning, negative campaigning, political parties, and the role the media plays in the electoral process. Each chapter is fairly short, yet the book offers comprehensive coverage of the subject matter. On one hand, it is written so that it is accessible to undergraduate students and contains a minimum of complex statistical analysis. On the other hand, connections to political science research and the role it plays in dispelling falsehoods about campaigns and elections are explicit throughout the text. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections is useful as a pedagogical tool to help "hook" students into thinking about elections, politics, and political science.

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

History

Francia, Peter L.

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Does late night political humor matter? Are late-night comedians merely entertaining, or do they have the power to influence the way we think about politics and politicians? Politics Is a Joke! situates late night comedy in the historical context of political humor and demonstrates how the public turn to this venue for political information, and are in turn affected by it. Using exclusive data collected by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, the authors conduct a detailed and exhaustive analysis of political jokes on late night TV shows dating back to 1992 in order to pinpoint the main targets and themes of late-night comedy. Politics Is a Joke! uses a wide range of examples, from jokes about politicians' physical appearance and sex scandals to jokes about Congress and even the news media, to assess and understand the impact of political humor on political institutions, politicians and their policies and behavior. Engagingly written with analysis of jokes from comedians like Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Politics is a Joke! is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the crucial role late night comedy plays in our political universe - and anyone who enjoys a good laugh.

Humor

Many students develop misinformed opinions about the American electoral process. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions debunks some of the more common misunderstandings that have arisen about the electoral process in the past few decades. The book's organization and structure complement courses on campaigns and elections, political parties, political participation, public opinion, the media, Congress, and the presidency. Topics include campaign finance, political participation and voting, and the roles played by campaigns, negative campaigning, political parties, and the media in the electoral process. Each chapter is fairly short yet offers comprehensive coverage of the subject matter. The book contains a minimum of complex statistical analysis and is written so that it is accessible to undergraduate students. However, explicit connections are made throughout the text between political science research and the role it plays in dispelling falsehoods about campaigns and elections. The book is useful as a pedagogical tool to help "hook" students into thinking about elections, politics, and political science. The second edition includes material from the 2008 election, as well as two new chapters that cover campaign finance reform and the selection of vice presidential candidates.

It is quite possible that no elected office has been more historically maligned than the vice presidency of the United States. From the beginning of American politics the office has been the object of ridicule by scholars, pundits, humorists, citizens, and even vice presidents themselves. The perception among many is that institution and its occupants are at best irrelevant. Recent history would suggest otherwise, but as it stands no book exists that takes a detailed look at the new, impactful vice presidency that’s been forged since Clinton/Gore took office. The American Vice Presidency fills an important hole in the literature available to those interested in the modern vice presidency. Concise yet comprehensive, this book is the fullest and most accurate examination of the office to date, covering the origins and constitutional roots of the institution, its history, and the slow transformation of the office starting in the mid-twentieth century. Jody C Baumgartner and Thomas F. Crumblin highlight major changes in vice presidential selection as well as the new and various roles that vice presidents are being asked to play in their administrations. The book emphasizes the increasingly substantive Vice Presidencies of Gore, Cheney, and Biden and both informs and spurs the debate surrounding what form and role the Vice Presidency will take on moving forward.

The American Vice Presidency: From the Shadow to the Spotlight

Criminal Law

Many students develop misinformed opinions about the American electoral process. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths and Misconceptions debunks some of the more common misunderstandings that have arisen about the electoral process in the past few decades. This book engages students in elections and politics and teaches them to evaluate information like a political scientist. The third edition looks forward to the 2016 election with new, more contemporary myths addressed and a new chapter on voter fraud and identification.

During every election cycle, political observers generate a seemingly limitless supply of theories, opinions, and predictions. Unfortunately, many of these assertions oversimplify complex subjects or overhype the latest political fads. Inevitably, some misinformation becomes part of the conventional wisdom about American elections. The objective of Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions is to bring clarity to several of these subjects. For example, it is now commonplace for commentators to emphasize the negative tactics and practices of the campaigns of presidential candidates. In 2016, some commentators suggested that the presidential campaign was the “nastiest” ever, with the campaigns of President Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and their supporters, going to “new extremes” of negativity. However, these claims are not new. Dating as far back as the presidential election of 1800, critics of Thomas Jefferson stated that his potential victory would bring about legal prostitution and the burning of the Bible. In 1824, opponents of Andrew Jackson charged that he was a murderer and that his wife was a bigamist. Perhaps most scurrilous of all, Jackson’s opponents even accused his dead mother of being a prostitute. In total, Conventional Wisdom and American Elections identifies eleven widely held myths and misconceptions about elections in the United States. The conclusions drawn throughout the book are based on the most current political science research. In some instances, the literature is clear in debunking popular myths about American elections. On other issues, research findings are more mixed. In either case, Conventional Wisdom and American Elections clarifies the issues so that readers can discern between those in which scholars have largely resolved and those in which honest debate remains.

Modern Political Caricatures: "I Can See Russia from My House"

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Baumgartner, Jody C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Baumgartner, Jody C.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Baumgartner, Jody C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The American Vice Presidency Reconsidered

Politics Is a Joke!: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

Politics Is a Joke!: How TV Comedians Are Remaking Political Life

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

The American Vice Presidency: From the Shadow to the Spotlight

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions

Modern Political Caricatures: "I Can See Russia from My House"