Campaigns Don't Count: How the Media Get American Politics All Wrong | 
 enlarge | Author: Martin Gottlieb
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 1024078
Media: Paperback
Edition: 0
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 164
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 0595381707
Dewey Decimal Number: 324
EAN: 9780595381708
ASIN: 0595381707
Publication Date: March 20, 2006
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Product Description
Throughout most of 2004, the presidential election was too close to call in the polls. Journalists and politicians alike insisted that its outcome would depend on developments in the Iraq war, on the state of the economy, and on the strength of each candidates campaign. But one veteran columnist in Ohioauthor Martin Gottliebwrote in a January 2004 column that President George W. Bush "has won" the election. He repeated this point several times throughout the year. How could he be so confident? After decades of observation, Gottlieb has concluded that the best system for predicting the outcome of an American electionand, more important, for explaining American politicsis one devised by Professor Allan J. Lichtman of American University in Washington. Its a system that emphasizes the importance of reality over imagery. Campaigns Dont Count takes the reader briskly through recent American political history, taking note of predictions of all sorts. What emerges is a new way to think about American democracy. Gottliebs case will intrigue journalists and anyone else interested in American politics.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent campaign guide and historical review November 19, 2008
Martin Gottlieb's "Campaigns Don't Count" can help you "call" a U.S. presidential election early -- good for bettors, but there's much more. His compact work offers insights into some entertaining election history, campaign dynamics, and the pundits whose methods can be even more predicable than the outcome of the vote. Gottlieb's independent thinking, subtle humor and witty style make his book as fun as it is insightful, and with good shelf life.
"For Political Junkies" October 25, 2006
In this timely historical book, Gottlieb disects the current election forcasts in a refreshing manner. He defines the internal functions of the American election system covering everthing from the primaries and polls to candidate charsima and recessions, all the while, explaining how these factors weigh in or don't matter to the outcome of elections. Gottlieb also reminds us that political "ideology is [grossly] overestimated" and when it comes to politics, common sense usually trumps political jargon and media ploys. This is a great reference book for predicting the upcoming elections and a really fun read.
 You Can't Quantify Everything and Shouldn't Even Try September 21, 2006
I found Mr. Gottlieb's book to be a startlingly clear take on what the mainstream media seeks to complicate with meaningless numerical assertions. People cast their ballots based on their particular view of the great issues of the day: war and peace, the state of the economy,
America's perceived role in the world, etc. Voters know (or perhaps feel)
which candidate and/or party best reflects their views on the issues of the day and their hopes for the future. I found such a view to be refreshing. The media brahamans want to tell us how we should perceive these things. They are not content to inform, they must prove their contentions by presenting polls and data down to the last decimal point.
I suppose the most appealing feature of this book is that most voters
see through these media driven shams that our political life has become.
Quantifications are great when determing batting averages, most home runs, most runs driven in but politics is not a science. It should be about
what is best for the country and we must rely on the wisdom of voters not
bean counters.
A very interesting perspective on elections September 15, 2006
In Campaign's Don't Count, Martin Gottlieb provides a fascinating view into American elections. Instead of following the conventional wisdom that campaign maneuvers convince the American public to vote a certain way, Gottlieb takes a more back-to-the-basics approach.
Relying heavily on Allan Lichtman's theories on predicting election results, Gottlieb argues that the public's view (or at least, their votes) are based not on campaign rhetoric, but on the core status of the country (economy, political landscape, etc) and their lives.
While I may not agree with every one of his assertions, I discovered that while following Gottlieb through various examples in his work, I found myself questioning things I had previously taken for granted in American politics. He does a great job of explaining his concepts clearly, without overburdening the reader with pedantic detail. I don't often read political science books, but I'm glad I found this one. It's changed my view of elections.
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