Campaigning for President 2012: Strategy and Tactics - Softcover

"Johnson's book offers a timely look at the 2012 campaign. The chapters, written by a mix of widely-recognized practitioners and academics, provide a thorough assessment of the campaign from start to finish, including key sections on critical topics from money and communication to parties and candidate performance. Its easy style and rich empirical data are sure to make it essential reading for those interested in campaign politics."

―Michael Parkin, Oberlin College

"Campaigning for President 2012: Strategies and Tactics is a terrific collection of chapters by many leading academics as well as those who have been in the trenches of campaigns. Dennis Johnson has assembled it all -- from the primaries and Super PACs to the issues, advertising strategy and technological advances. Any student of elections will want to read this book."

―David Dulio, Oakland University

"Dennis Johnson has drawn together a remarkable combination of prominent academics and experienced campaign professionals to describe and explain the 2012 presidential selection process. The results are full of fascinating details, real insights, and analysis that will be of interest not just to scholars and students but to political practitioners and interested citizens as well."

―Cal Jillson, Southern Methodist University

"This book provides excellent coverage of the 2012 election. Featuring internationally-renowned academics and political practitioners, it presents valuable information about the context in which the election was fought, the money chase, and the strategies and tactics the candidates and their supporters used to engage and turnout voters. Readers will find the insights presented in this volume useful for understanding future elections."

―Paul S. Herrnson, University of Maryland

In this important and timely volume, Dennis W. Johnson has assembled an outstanding team of political scientists and political professionals to examine one of the fiercest and most closely fought presidential elections of our time. Like its predecessor, Campaigning for President 2008, Campaigning for President 2012: Strategy and Tactics focuses on political management. It is written by both elections/campaign scholars and practitioners, who highlight the role of political consultants and campaigns while also emphasizing the strategy and tactics employed by the candidates, the national political parties, and outside interests. The contributors explore the general mood of the electorate in the 2012 election, the challenges Obama faced after his first term, the primaries, money, communication, the important issues of the election, and finally the election itself.