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4.0 out of 5 stars
An unbiased history of the candidates in 2004, August 8, 2004
This review is from: Every Vote Counts: A Practical Guide to Choosing the Next President (Paperback)
In a presidential election year where the electorate is once again split down the middle, every vote does indeed count. Baring some major terrorist act, a major economic downturn or international crisis, the electoral votes of some states could be decided by less than one thousand of the popular votes cast in the state. Political partisanship is also very high, as the committed supporters of both major candidates understand the consequences. Given this environment, underlying political bias is apparent in many publications, although it is sometimes very subtle. This book is purported to be an unbiased listing of the backgrounds and positions of the three candidates, John Kerry, George W. Bush and Ralph Nader. The author is very meticulous in maintaining an unbiased political position throughout and he is to be commended for that.
Our system of electing a president is more complex than a simple majority of the votes cast. Voters are actually electing Electoral College electors for their state or district, where the numbers are based on population. Therefore, there is a chapter on the features of the Electoral College, the results of the 2000 election, changes in electoral vote allocation due to the 2000 census and the current projections of states in the camps of the two major candidates and those considered to be undecided. One point that will surprise many people who don't follow the political process is that in the practical sense, all votes are not equal. A vote in a state where one candidate has a significant edge does not carry the weight of a vote in a swing state. Those are the votes that will decide who wins the election.
Other chapters deal with techniques you can use to filter out the fluff, mud and hype to discern what the candidates and their supporters are really saying. Using the contents of political ads to make your decision is one of the worst ways to do it. There is also evidence to indicate that they don't work all that well anyway. Former Presidential candidate Howard Dean spent millions in my home state of Iowa before the caucuses in January 2004 and finished a poor third, destroying his candidacy. Therefore, the author does a good job in saying, "Don't take the ads at face value" and then explaining why.
Three chapters are allocated to explaining the positions of each of the three major candidates. While there was very little on Bush and Kerry that I didn't already know, (I am a political junkie), the chapter on Ralph Nader was illuminating. Whatever your position on his motives on running for president, you cannot argue with the impact he has had during his career. Katsaropoulos does a very good job of describing the historical record of the candidates. An additional chapter lists what are considered the major issues of the election, with a caption stating the position of each candidate on the issue.
If there is a negative aspect to the book, it is an occasional tendency to treat it like an examination. After the positions of each of the candidates on an issue, there is a box called, "Who do you agree with?" In chapter 12, there is a "quick and easy" candidate match survey. The reader is to read each statement and mark it with the candidate(s) they think said it. At the end, you then total the scores to see which candidate more closely matches your views. The problem with this is that the statements are all short and lacking in context. Complex issues cannot be reduced to a few words (sound bite) and distorts, even when there is a complete lack of bias between the candidates.
I was impressed with the book, there are few publications these days that are unbiased and this is one of them. For most people, the book is irrelevant, but if you are still undecided, then I recommend it as a quick way to learn the facts about each of the candidates. Learning about the candidates before voting is your civic duty.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read, September 28, 2004
This review is from: Every Vote Counts: A Practical Guide to Choosing the Next President (Paperback)
This is one of the best sources of information on the upcoming election that I have found. A real gem. It is non-partisan and very informative. Katsarapoulos has clearly done his homework. Regardless of whether you are a Bushy, Democrat or want to throw your vote away with Nadar, you should buy this book!
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