POS 4275 - MODERN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
FALL, 2014
PROF. R.K. SCHER
204 Anderson
352-273-2356
rkscher@ufl.edu
Office Hours: Tues. 11:301:30, Thurs 3:30-4:30 and
by appointment
CLASS SYLLABUS
PURPOSE: To explore major issues associated with modern political campaigns.
Presidential campaigns are a primary, but not exclusive, focus. The emphasis of the
course is to investigate why modern campaigns take the forms they do, and to place them
in broader American cultural and political contexts. This is NOT a course on how to run
campaigns; it is a course on understanding campaign politics.
We take as our starting point that political campaigns mirror American politics generally,
warts and all, and are part and parcel of those politics at the time the campaigns take
place. The real question is, what is the impact of our campaigns on the health of our
democratic elections?
READINGS: The following books are required:
 Hunter Thompson, FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
 Timothy Crouse, THE BOYS ON THE BUS
 Thomas Mann and Norman Orenstein, IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN IT LOOKS
 Recommended: Joe Klein, POLITICS LOST
NOTE: Students need to read a national newspaper and/or magazine to follow ongoing
campaigns. Online versions are fine. It is ESPECIALLY recommended that students
examine, on a regular basis, foreign media that have particularly good coverage of
American politics and campaigns. Three suggestions in English are (other language print
media are acceptable):
 The Guardian
 The Financial Times
 Al Jazeera
Each of these can be found online.
The instructor will also send links to required readings (articles, news items,
commentary, etc.) via the class list serve; it is important that students download or
archive these readings for the purpose of class discussions, written assignments, and the
final examination.
CLASSES: Lectures will be presented, but this is definitely a discussion course. Students
are expected to read the required materials in advance of class, and come prepared to use
them as a vehicle for discussion. Attendance will NOT be taken, but students are
responsible for everything that happens in class, including announcements and surprise
assignments/projects. If a student misses class, it is his/her responsibility to find out what
was missed; students are also responsible for all information on the syllabus. Students
should take advantage of the instructor's office hours to discuss issues with him.
Absences from Class:
 The instructor firmly believes that students have a right to make choices about
how they spend their time, including coming to class. He is not a policeman, he
does not take roll, he comes to class every day to provide, as best he can,
observations and insights into campaign politics, and to discuss with and among
students why the topics of this course are valuable to them.
 Those who feel that this is a worthwhile use of their time are invited to attend
regularly, and to become full participants and partners in the intellectual journey
the class offers.
 But the instructor is well aware that students have competing demands on their
time. They need to decide whether or not those competing demands are more
valuable to them than coming to class, or if some seeming obligation outside of
class obviates or takes precedence over the need to attend. The decision is the
students’ alone, and entirely.
 Thus, it is not necessary to ask the instructor’s permission to miss class, because
he cannot give it. It is not necessary to inform the instructor about an absence,
because that is the student’s business, not his.
 Nor is it good student practice to ask, in the event of an absence, if he/she missed
anything “important.” The instructor designs each class with the idea that the
topic of the day is important; otherwise, why bother?
 And what students need always to remember is that their choice of how they will
use their time has consequences. The instructor urges students to think them
through before deciding on how to use their time.
NOTE: There will be no class on Thursday, August 28 (APSA) or Election Day,
Tuesday, November 4. No office hours those days, either.
POSSIBLE FILMS: Time permitting, we may watch the following campaign-related
films in class:
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ANYTOWN USA
THE CAMPAIGN
BOOGIE MAN: The Lee Atwater Story
One or more episodes of HOUSE OF CARDS
CLASS LIST SERVE: The Registrar provides a list serve for the course, and the
instructor will use it to send out readings, announcements, etc. It is essential that students
examine the e-mail address they gave the Registrar on a frequent and regular basis, in
order not to miss important materials. NOTE: the instructor has NO control over the list
serve. If students incur problems with it, talk to the Registrar, not the instructor.
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS:
Each student must complete the following short assignments:
Group Project: Each student will join a group (self-selection is fine, no more than 5
members/group) to follow, study, report on, and write about a campaign of its choosing:
 The group needs first to identify and agree upon its campaign. Any campaign
is fine, and issue campaigns are also acceptable, recognizing that some of the
following will need to be modified. The campaign need not be in Florida or
even in the United States.
 It needs to examine such matters as
o Who are the candidates?
o For what office is the contest?
o What is the contest about? What are the issues, if any?
 How visible is the campaign? Does anybody care?
o What is the partisan lineup?
o To what block(s) of voters do the candidates try to appeal, and
which do they absolutely need?
o Polling data?
o Campaign strategies and tactics?
 How does the campaign seek to reach voters and assemble
a winning coalition?
o Media coverage
 Adequacy?
 Fair? Slanted?
 Has the media selected/ chosen the winner in advance?
o Fund raising?
 Hard money
 Soft money, including 527 and 501(c)(4) SUPER PAC
funds, if any
o Negative campaigning?
o Other – group’s choice
 On Thursdays (double period day), September 25, October 16, October
30, EACH group will make a brief (2 or 3 minutes, no more) oral or video
presentation on the status of the campaign, addressing the above issues,
and any other they wish to include;
 On Thursday, November 13, each group will make a FIVE minute oral
or video presentation on the results of its campaign, what happened, and
why.
 On Tuesday, December 9 (last day of class) each group will present a 5
page written (printed, double spaced) summary and analysis of its
campaign, expanding on the oral presentation previously made. No late
papers will be accepted under any circumstances.
Blog analysis: Each student must individually follow TWO (2) blogs about the
campaign season and prepare a brief (3-5 page, printed double-spaced) report:
 Blogs cannot be those of candidates;
 They can, but need not, be about the campaign analyzed for the group project;
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o More generalized blogs about politics/the campaign season (e.g.,
dailykos.com, dailybeast.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, etc.) are
fine;
o Choice of blogs is COMPLETELY up to the student. If you are uncertain
about the blog’s acceptability, check with the instructor.
Blogs need not reflect the same political views and opinions, or they might;
Analysis of the blogs should reflect:
o Who is/are the author(s)?
o What are their credentials?
o Who pays for the blog?
 Does this affect the views expressed?
o How serious is the blog?
 Is it based on careful rumination and thinking or is it just
bloviation and gaseous fulmination?
 Is the blog credible – would you cite it in a paper or use it to
substantiate an argument?
 Do you trust the blog? Why or why not?
o Would you recommend the blog? Why or why not?
o Anything else you wish to include?
Due date for paper: November 25. No late papers will be accepted without
prior arrangement with the instructor.
Individual project: each student must prepare an individual project dealing with some
aspect of political campaigns. Students have a wide range to choose a topic and method
of presentation EXCEPT that PowerPoint or slide presentations are NOT acceptable; but
a video/documentary is certainly would be. Students could pursue one of the topics in the
course, or one not covered as long as it is related to campaigns; campaigns need NOT be
within the US. Historical examination of a past campaign is welcome, but students
should be careful to narrow and focus the discussion; summaries of the total campaign
won’t work. Students should consult with the instructor about their project, to ensure that
it is appropriate for the course.
Students writing papers should prepare one of 3-5 pages, printed double spaced; those
offering other formats should discuss length/size/scope with the instructor.
Due date for individual project: Tuesday, December 2. No late papers will be
accepted without prior arrangement with the instructor.
Tell Us Something We Don’t Already Know: Each Tuesday prior to the election
(beginning September 2) we will begin the class with a brief examination of what is
happening in the 2014 campaign cycle. Students are welcome to bring comments,
questions, anecdotes, etc. for general consumption before we launch into the presentation
of the day. Students are welcome to submit these in writing to the instructor before class
begins; those submitting 7 will receive 5 extra credit points at the end of the course
(NOTE: There are 9 Tuesdays between September 2 and Election Day). NOTE: No
more than one submission per Tuesday is allowed (in other words, you can’t hand in 7
submissions on one day).
EXAMINATIONS: There is no mid-term examination in this course. A take-home final
examination of the essay type, based on readings and class materials, will be handed out
the last day of class, Tuesday, December 9. It will be due at noon on Tuesday,
December 16 in the instructor's office. No late papers will be accepted after that time
(“Noon” is defined by the official U.S. Government time service,
http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Eastern/d/-5/java ).
TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CLASS:
 Why do we have political campaigns?
 Campaigns as a Circus
 The rampant negativity of our campaigns
o http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/18/us-elections-2012us-politics?CMP=email
o Film – BOOGIE MAN
 Campaigns in historical context – was it always this bad?
 Who are the candidates/issues? Where do they come from? Is this the best we
can do?
 What are the politics of the modern campaign?
o Money – the Great Satan?
 Citizens United v FEC, 558 US 50 (2010)
 McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 U.S _____ (2014)
o Media – Lucifer’s handmaiden, fellow traveler, pimp?
Mainstream/analogue media and digital media – are any of these
trustworthy? What is the impact of digital technology on modern political
campaigns? How are campaigns covered and reported
 Thompson
 Crouse
o Political Parties – vacuum cleaners of money, hucksters of agendas,
purveyors of garbage?
o McCutcheon v. FEC, 572 US _____ (2014).
 Mann and Ornstein
o Consultants and pollsters – creating an illusion, constructing the truth, or
mirroring reality?
 Jeffrey Lewis via class list serve
 Joe Klein (recommended)
o Control the electorate – disenfranchise as needed!
 Materials to be distributed via class list serve
 Modern Political Campaigns and the corruption of our politics
o TBA
CRITERIA FOR GRADE:
 Group project - 25 pts
 Blog paper – 25 pts
 Project – 25 pts
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Possible “Tell Us Something We Don’t Already Know” – 5 pts (extra credit)
Final exam – 25 pts.
GRADING SCALE:
 90-100: A
 80-89: B
 70-79: C
 60-69: D
 <60: E
 +/- grades will be awarded at the margins (for example, 78/79 is a C+; 77 is a C).
NOTE: Because of budget constraints, there is no hard-copy version of this syllabus.
Nor is it posted on any website. There is only the e-version. Please download it or
preserve it in some way so you will have ready access to it.
FURTHER NOTE: All written assignments MUST be given to the instructor as hard
copies. He cannot download and print them. Anything sent as an attachment will NOT
be accepted. Sorry about this, it’s a logistical and budget issue.