Studies of Identity in the 2008 Presidential Campaign

Reviews / Votes

Denton has created a collection of incisive and prescient essays that ardroitly explores the 'change' to identity politics that occurred during the 2008 presidential election. These contributors demonstrate that, from the public sphere to the academy, the 2008 election changed the way our prospective leaders communicate who they are and what they represent to the public-at-large. Understanding the nexus between identity, politics and communication has never been more important. -- Joseph M. Valenzano III, University of Dayton Studies of Identity in the 2008 Presidential Campaign adds important scholarly understanding to one of the most important presidential elections in American history. Robert Denton has gathered together a group of scholars that will help people understand and provoke debate on the importance of identity politics during the campaign and Americal poltical culture as well. This book is a must for those wanting to understand all of the countours of the 2008 presidential election. -- Jason A. Edwards, Bridgewater State College The trouble with conventional thinking-dare I call it PC?-is that it stifles new insights. Studies of Identity in the 2008 Presidential Campaign brings a welcome collection of fresh perspectives to a topic burdened by same-old, same-old conventionality. This volume is incisive and thought-provoking. -- Stephen D. Cooper, Marshall University This edited collection examines the role of identity in the historic presidential election of 2008. After a brief introductory essay that provides an overview of the election, an essay analyzes Sarah Palin's campaign as the Republican nominee for vice president. The Palin campaign is notable in that a woman ran against the typical image of feminism. A particularly interesting essay closely examines Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama's use of apologia in his campaign. The collection considers both the primary and general election campaigns. An essay reviews Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination. The Evangelical voter is the focus of another essay. Most of the essays use fairly simple quantitative analyses. Denton (Virginia Tech) provides a summary essay that critiques the importance of identity politics in contemporary political campaigns. The collection closes with a short epilogue that considers the role of liberals in the US academy. While the essays come from communication scholars, they include political science research in their framework that answers the research question at hand. Students of presidential campaigns as well as those readers interested in understanding the contours of the 2008 election will find this collection useful. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE * Two years after the 2008 election, Robert E. Denton Jr. provides readers with a timely edited collection that both sheds light on the ways identities shaped the presidential campaign then and how they continue to function in contemporary reverberations
of the campaign. This text spans several understandings of identity through its analyses of gender, race, age, and religion. It focuses not only on the discourses of key figures such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and John McCain, but also
on discourses constructed by the popular press. The book covers the wide terrain of election politics, both in subject and ideological orientation. It provides readers witha compelling text that offers new insights into one of the most historic presidential races in U.S. history. * Presidential Studies Quarterly * Two years after the 2008 election, Robert E. Denton Jr. provides readers with a timely edited collection that both sheds light on the ways identities shaped the presidential campaign then and how they continue to function in contemporary reverberations of the campaign. This text spans several understandings of identity through its analyses of gender, race, age, and religion.... The book provides important insights into the Clinton story even as it raises questions about centrism in modern politics that scholars in multiple fields should further examine. * Presidential Studies Quarterly *