The Almanac of American Politics, 2008

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By: Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen
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EDITORIAL REVIEW

The unequivocal 2006 election results suggest we have entered a new period in American politics. When America’s votes were tallied this past November, Democrats had won Election Day majorities in both the Senate and the House for the first time since 1992. The House Democrats’ margin of victory, furthermore, was very similar to the House Republicans’ popular vote margin in 1994—a harbinger, perhaps, of a new political era.

In the wake of such an eventful election, it’s no surprise that pundits on both sides of the fence are clamoring for the 2008 edition of The Almanac of American Politics—the gold standard for anyone who wants to understand the American political landscape. Once again, renowned journalists Michael Barone and Richard E. Cohen present the ultimate reference guide for everyone involved, invested, or interested in American politics. As in previous editions, the 2008 Almanac includes colorful, fascinating profiles of every member of Congress and every governor. It also includes in-depth and up-to-date political profiles of all fifty states and 435 House districts—covering everything from economics to history to, of course, politics.

Specific to this latest edition of the nation’s leading political resource is coverage of all special elections in the 109th Congress and redistricting changes in Georgia and Texas. Barone and Cohen also provide a comprehensive look at the early maneuvering and likely battlegrounds of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Complete with maps, census data, and indispensable information on topics ranging from campaign expenditures to voting records to interest group ratings, this latest edition of the Almanac of American Politics presents everything you need to know about current American politics, related in snappy prose and framed by cogent analysis.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Publisher: National Journal Group
Pub. Date: 30th September 2007
Catalog: Book
Media: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 1850
Ean: 9780892341177
Isbn: 0892341173

ABOUT THIS BOOK

USER REVIEWS

Information,please;not spin!!
~ Written on Oct 22, 2008. 3 out of 3 users found this review helpful.

An hour with TAAP is more informative than a year of watching CNN. If you want the truth about the people who make decisions in your behalf, read The Almanac of American Politics. The book is a fair, comprehensive account of politicians without the manipulation of the networks and their biased reporters. Barone and Cohen take the responsibility of informing their readers of what goes on in Washington; they have no interest in selling cars and beer; but more importantly, they have no interest in who gets elected. If you want to find out the truth, read TAAP, if you want others to do your thinking for you, watch network TV.

For Political Junkies Like You and Me
~ Written on Mar 13, 2008. 1 out of 1 users found this review helpful.

The most complete collection of information available on American politics. The level of detail is unmatched. The Sunday morning pundits would be lost without it.

A Must Have for 2008
~ Written on Jan 22, 2008. 4 out of 5 users found this review helpful.

In this huge politcal year the Almanac of American Politics belongs on the bookshelves of anyone that has at least a passing interest in politics.
Mr. Barone can be a little too conservative for my tastes, but this years edition seems to be a little more balanced. Perhaps he's been humbled by recent events and decisions by the Current Occupant of the White House.

There are no adequate adjectives
~ Written on Jan 18, 2008. 2 out of 2 users found this review helpful.

Mr. Barone and his collaborators continue to produce the benchmark political work of our time, and we get it updated every two years. What a treat to be able to go to this piece of work and get the unadorned skinny about an individual and the region that he represents.

As balanced as I've ever seen it
~ Written on Nov 19, 2007. 17 out of 22 users found this review helpful.

Here it is again - the political junkie's biennial facts fix. Since the 1970s, all the demographic information, statistics, maps and historical background you could expect in a single volume have been available in this one. That hasn't changed with the latest model, and there's still no rival when it comes to having all the facts in one place.

What has changed? As longtime readers know, Michael Barone's conservative bias has been palpable in a number of past volumes (probably peaking along with Republican dominance of Congress in the mid-90s). It has decreased in recent issues, but it's hard for us liberal readers to avoid seeking - and usually finding - examples of Republican rhetoric thinly disguised as fact. I'm pleased to report that this edition is better than most other recent ones in that regard. One can't help but suspect that the 2006 elections made Barone want to chortle about the bleak 2008 prospects for all the new Democratic members - but for the most part, the analysis of past and future elections is straightforward and facts-based, for Democratic and Republican members alike.

Certainly, there are still points where you can at least see the bias wanting to come out. For example, the entry for Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) manages to tell the truth about why Casey's father was not allowed to address the 1992 Democratic National Convention - sort of. You can tell Barone wants to repeat the standard Republican lie about it being entirely due to the abortion issue, but instead he argues only that the decision was "certainly related to his stance on abortion but also brought on by his skepticism about Bill Clinton." Close enough, but then, the incident is mentioned again in discussing Sen. Chuck Schumer's DSCC chairmanship in terms that probably do cross the line into rhetoric-land. The more blatantly snide comments (chiding liberal voters for not supporting right-wing black or female candidates, for example) are, however, pleasantly absent this time around.

The analysis is sometimes a bit dry as a result of the relative evenhandedness, but I don't suppose that's really something we should complain about. Political junkies on the left and right alike will probably enjoy flipping through this copy.

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