The Rise of Candidate-Centered Politics Presidential Elections of the 1980s

This is an interesting and well-written book with a definite point of view. Wattenberg does a fine job of utilizing diverse data sources to construct a highly plausible argument...The presentation of arguments and data analysis is very skillful; the chapters build upon each other very effectively

It is a genuine pleasure to read a book as excellent in all respects as Martin Wattenberg's. It contains a wealth of fascinating material, clearly and soundly analyzed, and makes significant contributions both to our understanding of politics in the 1980s and to the methodology by which we find things out. It is original and, in many areas, path-breaking...The author comes right to the point, without repetition and with scarcely a wasted word.

Wattenberg expands upon the themes of his first book, The Decline of American Political Parties, in which he asserted that more Americans than ever before were taking a 'neutral' stance toward the Democratic and Republican parties. In this new work he describes the effects of political neutrality: the rise of candidate-centered politics...Wattenberg discovers that since 1968 Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have suffered declines in their overall approval ratings. This is especially true for Ronald Reagan. Wattenberg explodes the myth that the 'Great Communicator' was especially popular with his fellow countrymen...Today, the American dislike of parties and their nominees means that many voters cast their ballots based on the 'goodness/badness' of the times--or what Wattenberg calls 'performance based voting'...Highly recommended.

Provides information and analysis that makes it a significant contribution to the professional literature on contemporary American electoral politics.