The Iowa precinct caucuses The making of a media event

Hugh Winebrenner, 1937-

Book - 2010

Saved in:

2nd Floor Show me where

324.52/Winebrenner
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 324.52/Winebrenner Checked In
Subjects
Published
Iowa City : University of Iowa Press c2010.
Language
English
Main Author
Hugh Winebrenner, 1937- (-)
Other Authors
Dennis J. Goldford, 1948- (-)
Edition
3rd ed
Physical Description
xiv, 363 p. : ill. ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781587299155
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • List of Tables
  • 1. The Media and American Politics: An Overview
  • 2. Iowa: A Political and Demographic Profile
  • 3. The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Decades of Obscurity
  • 4. The 1968 and 1972 Caucuses: The Emergence of a National Event
  • 5. The 1976 Caucuses: The Making of a Front-Runner
  • 6. The 1980 Caucuses: A Media Event Becomes an Institution
  • 7. The 1984 Caucuses: The Kickoff of a Front-Loaded Season
  • 8. The 1988 Caucuses: A Media Extravaganza
  • 9. The 1992 Caucuses: A Favorite Son Emerges
  • 10. The 1996 Caucuses: Back in the Limelight
  • 11. The 2000 Caucuses: More Important than Ever
  • 12. The 2004 Caucuses: Change and Continuity
  • 13. The 2008 Caucuses: From Iowa to the White House
  • 14. Media Event or Local Event? The Caucuses in Perspective
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

In the third edition of their book, Winebrenner (emer., Drake Univ.) and Goldford (Drake Univ.) examine the history of the Iowa precinct caucuses from obscurity to their prominence as a media spectacle in contemporary presidential campaigns. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive guide to the process and account for its evolution by analyzing presidential campaigns from 1968 through 2008. The authors investigate the increased attention the national media gave to the caucuses and the subsequent changes this exposure produced in the ways presidential hopefuls campaigned in Iowa. The vignettes produced by Winebrenner and Goldford illustrate varying strategies and tactics candidates in recent campaigns employed. In the end, the authors suggest that the import of the caucuses remains in their ability to both "make" and "break" candidates by winnowing the field significantly. They argue that this influence is disproportionate to the reality and purpose of the caucuses themselves. This is due not only to the politics of Iowa but also to the characteristics of caucus participants themselves. The Iowa Precinct Caucuses is a must read for those who seek to better understand the presidential selection process. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels. R. M. Alexander Ohio Northern University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.