Choosing Our Choices: Debating the Presidential Nominating Process

by James W. Davis, Robert E. DiClerico

Overview

Probably no feature of the American political system has been subject to more sustained criticism over the last twenty-five years than the process by which we choose our presidents. In Choosing Our Choices, Robert E. DiClerico and James W. Davis debate the question: should we retain the present, primary centered "direct democracy" method in selecting presidential candidates or should we return to a representative decision-making process to nominate our candidates? This timely and thought-provoking text offers the reader a concise yet comprehensive analysis of the presidential nominating system, arguments for and against the current system, and supplemental documents and essays for further reading. Choosing Our Choices will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars interested in exploring how Americans choose their leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742573345
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/26/2000
Series:	Enduring Questions in American Political Life
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert E. DiClerico is professor of political science at West Virginia University and author of The American President, Few Are Choosen: Problems in the Presidential Selection, and Analyzing the Presidency.

James W. Davis is professor of political science emeritus at Western Washington University and author of Presidential Primaries: Road to the White House, National Conventions in an Age of Party Reform, and U.S. Presidential Primaries and the Caucus-Convention System.

Marc Landy is professor of political science at Boston College.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Debating the Presidential Nominating Process
Chapter 2 Evolution of the Presidential Nominating Process
Chapter 3 The Case Against the Current Primary-Centered System
Chapter 4 In Defense of the President By Primary Process
Part 5 Documents
Chapter 6 McGovern-Fraser Commission: The Guidelines for Delegate Selection
Part 7 Readings
Chapter 8 "A Proposal for a National Primary"
Chapter 9 "The Case for a National Pre-primary Convention Plan"
Chapter 10 "Approval Voting: A Practical Reform for Multicandidate Elections"
Chapter 11 Proposal for a Regional Primary System

What People are Saying About This

Marc Landy

In the wake of the most expensive and one of the most tumultuous presidential nominating seasons in American history, it is appropriate to try to better understand that process and evaluate its merits. In Choosing Our Choices, Robert E. DiClerico and James W. Davis provide a clear and concise explanation of how the presidential nominating system operates and engages in an illuminating debate about its strengths and weaknesses.

Editorial Reviews

In the wake of the most expensive and one of the most tumultuous presidential nominating seasons in American history, it is appropriate to try to better understand that process and evaluate its merits. In Choosing Our Choices, Robert E. DiClerico and James W. Davis provide a clear and concise explanation of how the presidential nominating system operates and engages in an illuminating debate about its strengths and weaknesses.

Marc Landy