Author Description

This study by eminent scholars on both sides of the Atlantic suggests that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Survey research conducted in recent decades indicates that relatively few voters are swayed by candidates' personal characteristics. Far more important are voters' long-standing party loyalties, their views on issues, and their judgments of how well or badly presidents and parties have performed - or will perform - in office. The votes of even the few electors who are swayed by candidates' personalities usually cancel each other out. The implications of the authors' analyses are profound. They suggest that modern democratic politics is not nearly as candidate-centered and personality-oriented as is often supposed. They also suggest that parties' policies and their performance in office usually count for more than the men and women they choose as their leaders. Not least, the authors suggest that the efforts of political consultants, advertising agencies, and spin-doctors are often misdirected.