A comparison of two nations that enhances the understanding of each.
Choosing the Chief describes and compares how presidents are elected in France and the United States. Simple in conception, the book is rich in content, for in both countries presidential elections are the most critical points of political conflict, and every force that contributes to shaping political life comes into play. By focusing on the central theme of how presidential candidates emerge and how the voters perceive and evaluate them, Choosing the Chief presents a clear and complete picture of how the constitutional frameworks, electoral laws, party systems, social structures, and pivotal historical developments have converged to produce distinctive patterns of presidential politics in the two countries.
After describing the basic institutional arrangements and reviewing the succesion of presidential contenders in each country over the last three decades, Roy Pierce shifts to the vantage point of the voters, whose partisan attachments, ideological predispositions, and issue positions are carefully examined. Then he considers the electoral choice itself, looking at who actually votes, at the attitudinal forces affecting candidate choice, and at the social composition of the main electoral blocs in each country. The next part explores comparatively the phenomena of split ticket voting, presidential coattails, and the midterm slump. Finally, the last part presents an overall evaluation of each country's system, from the angles of popular satisfaction with the electoral outcome, the breadth of candidate choice, and the match between presidential behavior and broad national needs, viewed in historical perspective.
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6 x 9, ca 326 pagesISBN 0-472-10559-0
cloth 39.50E (tentative)
November