Attuned to the contemporary popular mood of uncertainty and unhappiness, this text addresses the legacy of two decades of disillusionment in the American political culture. In a series of essays, it traces the long, slow unravelling of the economic and social fabric of the USA as a narrative thread through the historical passage from Jimmy Carter to Newt Gingrich. Seeking the complicated human stories that underlie quantitative measures of electoral victory or defeat, the book recognizes and comments on such trends as the deterioration of the traditional American spirit of commonality and confidence, the widening distrust of government and disaffiliation from the major political parties, and the increasing divisiveness of ongoing arguments of culturual self-definition. Each presidential contest is portrayed as a dramatic occasion for choice between contrived yet potent political polarities, and each is analyzed as a partial and temporary catharsis of the passions of political change. From Carter to Clinton, it chronicles the electoral history that set the stage for the congressional election of 1994. The author places that result in perspective as a signpost toward the looming cultural confrontation of 1996.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
This collection of essays, which originally appeared as part of the "Reports and Interpretations" series, analyzes the presidential elections from 1976 to 1992. The articles were written shortly before and after each election took place. Rutgers professor McWilliams gives his perspective on the possible impact, providing notes where his analysis was proven incorrect?a rare occurrence. Also, in a chapter reproduced from articles written for Commonweal magazine, he covers the Congressional elections of 1994. McWilliams's analysis is strongest in his discussion of the primary system and of the dissipation of the political parties in the electoral process. He argues persuasively that it was the mood of the nation and not the candidates themselves that determined the victor in each election. This book effectively complements several other excellent books covering these elections, among them The Reagan Legacy (LJ 11/1/88. o.p.), Jack Germond and Jules Witcover's Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars?: The Trivial Pursuit of the Presidency 1988 (Warner, 1990), and Mad as Hell: Revolt at the Ballot Box (LJ 8/93). For academic collections.?Patricia Hatch, Emmanuel Coll., Boston
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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