Barack Obama and the New America

Larry J. Sabato is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and director of its Center for Politics. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books on American politics and elections. Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics link here.

• Preface1. The Obama Encore: Breaking Some Rules, Larry J. Sabato (University of Virginia Center for Politics)2. Voting in a Time of Polarization: Why Obama Won and What It Means, Alan Abramowitz (Emory)3. A First-Term Incumbent Survives: The Fundamentals of 2012, James Campbell (SUNY at Buffalo)4. Un-Conventional Wisdom: The 2012 conventions and the nominating process, Rhodes Cook (formerly of Congressional Quarterly)5. It's Raining Money: The impact of federal election laws, Michael Toner (former FEC chair)6. Voters to the Sidelines: Old and new media in the election, Diana Owen (Georgetown University)7. America's Evolving Electorate, Nate Cohn (The New Republic)8. Candidates matter: 2012’s Senate and gubernatorial contests, Geoff Skelley (University of Virginia Center for Politics)9.Republicans Hold the Line: 2012’s national House contest, Kyle Kondik (University of Virginia Center for Politics)10. Forward: The future of the Democratic party, Jamelle Bouie (American Prospect)11. A Time for Choosing: The future of the Republican Party, Robert Costa (National Review)12. Are We in an Electoral Realignment?, Sean Trende (RealClearPolitics)13. From 2012 to 2016: Concluding Thoughts on the Permanent Campaign, Susan MacManus (University of South Florida)

Sabato (director, Center for Politics, Univ. of Virginia) pulls together elections experts (including political scientists, journalists, and political analysts) from a wide array of specialties to analyze the 2012 election. Though most of the chapters deal with different facets of the presidential election (e.g., the nominating process, campaign finance laws, and the role of the media), there are chapters dealing with gubernatorial and congressional races as well. The book is data driven, relying heavily on exit poll data to analyze the electorate, but it is far from a numbers book. Sabato does a lovely job of placing this election in a historical perspective to show which traditional factors in elections have stayed the same in contrast to developing trends that will change the understanding of how elections work. In that respect, this book will serve as an excellent introduction to the science of politics as well as an update for experts in the field. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.