Red Over Blue

From moral values to weapons of mass destruction, from exit polls to Swift Boat Veterans, from red states to blue states, the 2004 Presidential election left an indelible mark on American politics. In Red over Blue: The 2004 Election and American Politics, James W. Ceaser and Andrew E. Busch go beyond headlines and soundbites to explore the events, outcomes, and effects of the most recent exercise in American democracy. Beginning with an analysis of George W. Bush's first term and continuing through the primaries, general election, and aftermath, the authors share their insight and analysis through a clear and engaging narrative. Ceaser & Busch also look beyond the Presidential contest to examine important house, senate and gubernatorial races, as well as controversial state initiatives that played an important role in the 2004 election season. Building on Ceaser & Busch's studies of the 1992, 1996, and 2000 elections, this volume is essential reading for courses in American Government, Campaigns and Elections, and Presidential Politics, as well as for any American interested in the real and lasting importance of the 2004 elections.

In their fourth book on American elections, Ceaser and Busch explore the campaign, election, and aftermath of the 2004 election season. While the book focuses on the heated presidential campaign, it also includes analyses of the house and senate races. More than just a summary, Red Over Blue examines the theories behind the events and uses studies and data to explain why the election went the way it did.

Library Journal

In addition to their own scholarly books, Ceaser (politics, Univ. of Virginia) and Busch (government, Claremont McKenna Coll.) have now collaborated to recap and analyze four consecutive U.S. presidential elections. This look at the 2004 Bush-Kerry contest was preceded by The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Elections; Losing To Win: The 1996 Elections and American Politics; and Upside Down and Inside Out: The 1992 Elections and American Politics. This work, like its predecessors, is a crisp narrative that accessibly frames the major events and undercurrents of the 2004 primary and general elections in concepts drawn from the technical side of political science, such as realignment theory, base strategy vs. swing strategy, and partisan defection rates. The authors are particularly interesting on how blogs challenged the role of traditional media, and they devote one chapter to congressional and state elections and another to the changing roles of parties and to possible electoral reforms. The result, not quite scholarship and not quite journalism, is more substantial than Evan Thomas's Election 2004 and will be useful in both public and academic libraries.-Robert F. Nardini, Chichester, NH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

James W. Ceaser is professor of politics at the University of Virginia. Andrew E. Busch is associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. Together, they have written The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Election, Losing to Win: The 1996 Elections and American Politics, and Upside Down and Inside Out: The 1992 Elections and American Politics.