Customer Reviews

Senators on the Campaign Trail: The Politics of Representation (Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series)

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Fenno's book brings to light the world of the campaign for candidates. It is an insiders look into campaign politics and focuses more on the outcomes in relation to the candidates versus to the voters. Fenno attempts to make us focus more on the candidate as a human, as flesh and blood, rather than an ideology. What is wrong with this picture? In his chapter on Wyche Fowler he goes on to describe Fowler's Senate win in 1986 as one that was based on a model campaign. This model campaign was primarily centered around Fowler's personality and not his ideological plans for his state. Do we want politicians who are more personable than better judgement makers? According to Fenno, we do. Fenno does bring us into the world of the campaign but at what cost? In terms of the actual writing of the book, his ideas and thoughts seem scattered. When one is finished reading the book one is left with the overwhelming feeling of, "what are we supposed to get from this?" His goal of getting people to see candidates as more human is not really achieved but rather we end up seeing candidates as mere pawns in the game that is called campaigning.