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Insiders, Outsiders, and Voters in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election
Author(s) -
HINICH MELVIN J.,
SHAW DARON R.,
HUANG TAOFANG
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2010.03754.x
Subject(s) - political science , presidential system , politics , dimension (graph theory) , public administration , electoral reform , law , democracy , mathematics , pure mathematics
In 2008, both Barack Obama and John McCain repeatedly talked about “reform” and “change” on the campaign trail, presumably believing that voters would respond to a president who could challenge the established way of doing business. The authors gauge the significance of “reform” politics in 2008 through two analyses. First, they estimate a two‐dimensional issue space, paying particular attention to the possibility of a reform/establishment dimension. Second, they consider whether voters (1) preferred reform candidates, and (2) saw Obama or McCain as credible reform candidates. The data indicate the existence of a reform–establishment dimension. However, neither Obama nor McCain effectively convinced voters that they were reformers.