Claiming the Mantle: How Presidential Nominations Are Won and Lost Before the Votes Are Cast

by Roger Lawrence Butler and R Lawrence Butler

Book Overview

This book examines the process by which presidential nominees are selected in U.S., describing the evolution of the presidential nomination system from its original conception of letting the voters... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813342082
• ISBN13: 9780813342085
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Insightful look into how primaries REALLY work

Why are people so often disenchanted with presidential nominees? Probably because they don't really pick. According to Butler, who becomes a nominee comes down to four things: How much money can they raise? Can they manage the media? Can they win the respect of their party? And is their campaign well organized? If a candidate can't do these things, they are bound to lose the nomination. Butler also explains the three way primaries work out: a "Seven Dwarfs" scenario (no obvious nominee, a "Snow White" eventually emerges because of the four aforementioned reasons), a "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" scenario (an obvious nominee against others who don't have a chance of winning), and a "Clash of the Titans" scenario (the incumbent president or vice-president vs. an incredibly strong candidate who looks like he has a fighting chance - but the incumbent always wins anyway). All of this is explained clearly, with lots of details that make it both interesting and easy to follow. At times Butler takes his metaphors a little too far, but when it comes to genuine political science, this book is top-notch.