Interest Groups in the 2008 Presidential Election: The Barking Dog That Didn't Bite
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David C Kimball
Where were interest groups in the 2008 presidential election? In previous elections interest groups have played a crucial, often attacking, role in presidential campaigns. This essay compares the influence of interest groups in the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns in terms of financing election activities, shaping the campaign agenda, influencing candidate images and mobilizing voters. Interest groups represented the barking dog that didn't bite in the 2008 presidential election. I offer some explanations involving lessons learned from previous campaigns, strategic calculations by groups, and the challenging issue environment for many interest groups. Despite the muted impact of interest groups in the 2008 presidential campaign, the long-term prognosis is that interest groups will continue to be important in American elections.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Election Issue and Blog Discussion
- Article
- Race and the Moral Character of the Modern American Experience
- Interest Groups in the 2008 Presidential Election: The Barking Dog That Didn't Bite
- The Nomination and the Election: Clearing Away Underbrush
- The Return of the Voter: Voter Turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election
- Foreign Affairs and the 2008 Election
- Presidential Election Forecasts
- An Exceptional Election: Performance, Values, and Crisis in the 2008 Presidential Election
- The Magnitude of the 2008 Democratic Victory: By the Numbers
- LBJ's Revenge: The 2008 Election and the Rise of the Great Society Coalition
- Whither the Roberts Court?
- Review
- Review of America's Three Regimes: A New Political History
- Review of Panorama of a Presidency: How George W. Bush Acquired and Spent His Political Capital
Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Election Issue and Blog Discussion
- Article
- Race and the Moral Character of the Modern American Experience
- Interest Groups in the 2008 Presidential Election: The Barking Dog That Didn't Bite
- The Nomination and the Election: Clearing Away Underbrush
- The Return of the Voter: Voter Turnout in the 2008 Presidential Election
- Foreign Affairs and the 2008 Election
- Presidential Election Forecasts
- An Exceptional Election: Performance, Values, and Crisis in the 2008 Presidential Election
- The Magnitude of the 2008 Democratic Victory: By the Numbers
- LBJ's Revenge: The 2008 Election and the Rise of the Great Society Coalition
- Whither the Roberts Court?
- Review
- Review of America's Three Regimes: A New Political History
- Review of Panorama of a Presidency: How George W. Bush Acquired and Spent His Political Capital
