Election 2008!

Still haven’t made up your mind on who to vote for? Crown Library can help!

No, we won’t tell you to “vote early and vote often,” or go into the voting booth with you, but we will tell you that the library has resources to help you make an informed decision.

Voting day is Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Crown Library has many books profiling the candidates, the electoral process and how our democracy works, and, at times, how it doesn’t.

Be sure to check out our display of election-related books (first floor of the library) that are available for check-out.

Titles such as these are sure to intrigue and inform:

A Call to Greatness: Challenging our Next President

by David M. Abshire (JK 516 .A37 2008)

Abshire (Center for the Study of the Presidency) argues that the US is struggling to deal with significant challenges such as the global war on terror, a decline in its prestige and influence on the world stage, foreign policy problems in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, and the rise of globalization. The main goal of Abshire’s study is to present a set of political strategies related to these policy problems for the next president to consider upon taking office in January 2009. –Choice

The Keys to the White House: A Surefire Guide to Predicting the Next President

by Allan J. Lichtman (JK 534 .L525 2008)

Lichtman (American history, American U.) describes and explains his system for predicting the popular vote winner in the American presidential elections. The “keys” are 13 falsifiable conditions that favor reelection of the incumbent party. When five or fewer statements are false the incumbent party wins, else the challenger wins. The keys are: the incumbent party holds more House seats than after the previous mid-term elections, there is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination, the incumbent party candidate is the sitting president, there is no significant third or independent party campaign, the economy is not in recession during the campaign, real annual per-capital economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the two previous terms, there is no sustained social unrest during the term, the incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal, the incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs, the incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs, the incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero, the challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. Annotation 2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Reference and Research Book News

Voter’s Guide to Election Polls

by Michael W. Traugott and Paul J. Lavrakas (HN90 .P8T73 2008)

Traugott (communication studies, U. of Michigan) and Lavrakas (senior research methodologist, Nielsen Media Research) present a citizen’s primer on political polls. After a broad overview of polls and polling, they present a layperson’s explanation of the design and analysis of polls, including coverage of sampling procedures, the design of questionnaires, interviewing procedures, and data analysis. They conclude with a chapter on evaluating polls and discussion of common problems and complaints about polls Annotation 2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Reference and Research Book News

We also have a web page of links to information on:

• Candidate Voting History / Fact Checking

• Comprehensive Election News Sources

• Election Process

• Statistics / Public Opinion Polls / Surveys

So step up and make your voice heard by voting. Remember, voting is important, painless, and free!