Don t memorize names and dates details are not whats critical Critical Understand the concepts how people vote factors strengths and weaknesses candidates focus on of their opponent etc 2008 Bush not eligible to run and probably wouldn t have because he was so unpopular o Started two wars he had the support of the American people o Iraq going in to get rid of weapons of mass destruction couldn t find them went for a few years when he promised it would take a few weeks costing a lot of money and lives o Also economy is in recession McCain moderate o Good because he is different from Bush Democrat very unusual From the 1970s thru 2004 pattern was pretty consistent 5 10 legit candidates 1 is the front runner then Iowa New Hampshire front runner wins one but not both someone else wins other one and that person all of a sudden gets noticed then it s down to two candidates o Front runner most well known most support by leaders and partisans most money Hillary Clinton for Democrats o Momentum runner unknown that wins other conference front runner doesn t win Obama not very well known African American not really taken seriously In Iowa Obama defeated Hillary Clinton o Clinton isn t as strong as we thought o Obama is stronger than we thought o Obama was able to win in an almost entirely white state Democrats Obama vs Clinton stayed very close throughout next set of primaries Super Tuesday etc Obama got a small majority Clinton then strongly endorsed Obama at convention Looked like a good year for the Democrats focusing on the factors o Especially the Nature of the Times factor war recession etc Also wants to get the point across that McCain is actually very similar to Bush o McCain McSame McCain had a difficult time except for Candidate Evaluation o Obama young inexperienced African American o McCain military hero in Vietnam POW for 5 years father had been an admiral had the choice to be free but didn t until his other men were free too 30 years in senate Ad compares Obama to celebrities like Paris Hilton do you want her as your president September economic crisis very serious o The morning that happened McCain was asked about the economy and said the fundamentals were strong but by that afternoon it made him seem like he didn t know what was going on Obama used this against him by saying he doesn t understand the economy also compares Bush and McCain again to reinforce this idea that McCain will continue the policies of Bush o Look behind you We can t afford more of the same Another part of strategy electoral college Total 538 votes Needed to win 270 votes Both parties long before primaries party leaders look at electoral college map and ask what has happened in recent elections Certain states usually vote Republican and others usually vote Democrats o Usually 35 states are ignored by both parties o Focus is on the swing states could go either way Obama 365 McCain 173 Electoral College tends to exaggerate margin of the popular votes 2000 Clinton had been president for 8 years economy was very strong There was a surplus Republicans Bush nominated Nature of the times good Issues Healthcare and social security trust Democrats more Taxes and National Security trust Republicans more Two parties were both united Al Gore had problem with parties because there was a third party candidate on the liberal side o Green party Al Gore wanted to move towards the left to get those votes and wanted move to the middle as well Choose what issues to talk about Big advantage on issues and nature of the times Candidate Evaluation very different candidates o Gore experienced boring stiff aloof almost condescending trusts the gov t o Bush doesn t know much never served in Congress knows Texas but not national issues but he is witty charming friendly folksy he s a regular guy trusts the people Gore had to make a choice because there was a Clinton affair scandal o Good president bad person bad morals o I can run on the Clinton Gore record but that will remind people of the Clinton scandal o OR he could say he is his own man I am faithful Gore never once mentioned Clinton Bush had to decide as well because he had no advantage in any of the factors Bush decided to focus on education and taxes we have a surplus Gore wants to spend that surplus on wasteful gov t programs I want to give that money back to you because its yours he offers a big tax cut o Now taxes are a big issue Nature of Times we have a good economy don t think about the past think about the future TRUST Ohio ad turned into Texas Don t let Bush do to Ohio what he did to Texas Positive ads issue oriented Gore wants to take care of your family Republican ads focus on surplus and tax cuts and how you can t trust Al Gore Healthcare was also important in this campaign Gore knew the details of the Dingle Norwood Bill but Bush didn t Gore thinks If Bush starts talking about the details then he will probably make a mistake