Presidential Election 2004:
From Start to Finish

by Alan Shapiro

To the Teacher:
The student reading below provides an overview of the presidential campaign process. Following the reading are discussion questions as well as suggestions for activities and inquiries.

Student Reading:
Campaigning to Become President of the United States

A U.S. presidential election in the U.S. is the key event in a lengthy process that begins almost as soon as a new president is inaugurated. In outline, this process--both official and unofficial--includes the following.

Exploration and Announcement

An individual who has decided to run for the presidency or at least to consider it seriously may appoint an "exploratory committee" to determine what the outlook is for success (especially the individual's fundraising potential). The candidate then begins to assemble a staff to deal with the thousands of details of a presidential campaign. Most candidates make a formal announcement that they are running for president more than a year before the election.

Fundraising

Raising money has probably begun even before the individual announced for the presidency. Money is the engine of a presidential campaign and no candidate can expect any chance of succeeding without tens of millions of dollars. Raising money continues throughout the campaign and even after it is over.

Candidates who go on to become Republican or Democratic nominees (by winning their party's primary election) spend huge amounts of money. During the 2000 election period the Bush campaign raised $191 million, the Gore campaign $133 million. An average full day of campaigning, including advance work, travel and hotel costs, renting halls and preparing stages can come to $100,000. Campaign contributions pay for salaries for the candidate's staff members, TV commercials, travel, telephone calls, direct mail fundraising and dozens of other items. As a result, fundraising efforts never stop. Detailed federal laws regulate contributions. But these laws have only a limited effect.

Why do people contribute to a candidate's campaign coffers? It varies. Many small contributors give because they believe their candidate will make a good president. Many big contributors expect that a candidate will do something good for them if he or she is elected.

Polling

Polling firms, including private firms hired by the candidate, conduct frequent surveys of voters. They try to determine how potential voters are responding to the candidate, what voters' major concerns are, and how they view the candidate's positions on various issues. A candidate may also assemble a "focus group," a small circle of selected voters (often about a dozen) who respond to questions aimed at helping the candidate figure out how best to position him/herself on an issue; what language evokes the best response; what the respondents do not like about the candidate; and how the respondents view the candidate's "image."

Primary Campaign

Campaigning is nonstop for many months. It includes:

• repeated travel in states that the candidate (and his or her campaign strategists) think is especially important to win or at least to do well in
• running ads on TV and radio
• developing a splashy website and assembling a huge email list of potential supporters
• speaking at breakfasts, luncheons, and dinners sponsored by civic groups, issue organizations, party workers
• speaking in the homes of supporters and contributors
• shaking the hands of workers at factories and commuters at train stations
• marching in parades
• participating in interviews with newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations
• participating in debates with other candidates
• seeking endorsements from prominent party members, labor unions, business and professional groups; raising money.

Party Primaries

Party primaries and caucuses begin early in 2004. These state-wide elections and gatherings allow party members to vote for the candidate they want nominated at the party convention. They do this by voting for delegates (people who have committed themselves to vote for a particular candidate) to the party's upcoming national convention. The successful delegates will attend the convention and vote the candidate they had pledged to support, except in a few rare cases.

The primary system was established early in the 20th century, when political reformers began a movement to promote greater voter participation in the nomination of a party's candidate. Primary election rules vary by state. Some states have "open" primaries, in which the voter chooses which party primary he or she wishes to vote. In "closed" primaries, only registered party members may vote. Today only four states--Alaska, Nevada, Colorado and Utah--do not have a presidential primary. New Hampshire holds the first primary (closed) on January 27, 2004. It will be followed by a series of other state primaries running into June.

In most states, primaries involve voters going to the polls and voting, just as they do in the general election in November. But several states, including Iowa, instead hold party caucuses--gatherings of registered party members who wish to participate in a vote for presidential candidates. The caucus winner becomes the state's nominee at the party convention. Iowa's Democratic caucus takes place on January 19, 2004.

Iowa and New Hampshire are not very populous states and so have a relatively small number of electoral votes to contribute at the party conventions (more on that below). And yet these two states receive a disproportionate amount of media attention because they hold the nation's first primary and first caucus. Winning in either state is supposed to give a boost to a candidate. But that boost may be short-lived.

For a variety of reasons, many candidates withdraw from the presidential campaign in the course of the primary season--because they have not done satisfactorily in primaries and caucuses, because they have drawn as much public attention as they're likely to get, or because they are running out of money. By the middle of March candidates will have completed some three dozen caucuses and primaries, and it is usually clear who each party's nominee will be. A candidate emerges who has assembled enough support from primaries and caucuses to assure a nomination by delegates to the party's convention.

In 2004, the Democratic Party nomination is still up for grabs. But the Republican Party nominee is already known, since President Bush is seeking reelection and faces no significant Republican opposition.

Party Conventions

Party conventions are held during the summer before Election Day. Political parties planning 2004 conventions include the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party, and Libertarian Party. Party conventions are attended by delegates that were elected in the party primaries and caucuses.

The Democratic and Republican party conventions each run for several days. The people attending are the delegates selected by the states during the primaries-often they are party activists. The conventions are packed with speeches and colorful displays aimed at attracting positive media attention. Increasingly, the major party conventions have become choreographed events designed to have a rallying effect on the party faithful, the public, and the media.

Although many crucial decisions have already been made in advance of the party conventions, both Republican and Democratic conventions still include a meeting of the party's "platform committee," which works out the party's position on major and minor issues. (Ultimately the party's candidate may or may not give a lot of attention to these issues or adhere strictly to the official position.)

Nominating and seconding speeches begin for the various candidates, and then delegates vote - although everyone already knows who will win. The nominee announces who will be his or her running mate (the vice presidential candidate) and a convention vote formally approves it. The vice presidential and the presidential nominees then make their acceptance speeches, and the convention ends.

General Election Campaign

After the party conventions, the contest between the Democratic and Republican presidential contenders goes into full gear. (So does campaigning by candidates for U.S. Congress and for state and local offices. The entire US. House of Representatives is up for election or reelection every two years, and one-third of the Senators are also up for election or reelection every two years.)

Election Day

Election Day arrives on the first Tuesday in November. At the polls, citizens are actually voting for a slate of "electors" who are committed to supporting a particular presidential candidate but are not legally required to. The candidate with the highest number of popular votes in a state wins all of its electoral votes, even if the victory margin is just one vote. To vote, a citizen must be at least 18 and have registered with the appropriate authority before the election. Most states also have laws banning prisoners or even ex-prisoners from voting - a total of about 4 million Americans cannot vote because of a felony conviction.

The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of senators (2) and representatives (at least 1) to which it is entitled in Congress. States with relatively small populations have as few as 3 electors (for example, Delaware and each of the Dakotas). Populous states have many more electors-the three largest states are California (55 electors), Texas (34) and New York (31). But every electoral vote can be important, as the 2000 presidential election demonstrated.

Electoral College Vote

At a December meeting of the "Electoral College," the electors vote to determine the next president. This meeting, though, is only a formality, for the results of this vote are known immediately after the popular votes are tallied a month earlier.

Inauguration Day

Inauguration Day is January 20 in Washington, D.C. The new president takes an oath of office and then delivers an inaugural speech.

Next Election

A new presidential campaign begins soon afterward. (After 2004, we will be on to the 2008 presidential election!)

Classroom Activities

For Discussion

1. If it is almost certain that a candidate really has no chance to win, why is he or she running? Are any of the nine Democratic candidates in that category? If so, who and why? Can such "long-shot" candidates make a positive contribution to an election contest even if they don't win? If so, how?

2. Has the primary/caucus system served the purpose intended by reformers? What are the arguments pro and con? (Other countries, and even some U.S. states and localities, use different methods to select candidates which some people argue are fairer. This might be worthy of further investigation.)

3. What purposes did the framers of the Constitution have in providing for the electoral system? Should the electoral system be changed to a popular vote system? Why or why not?

4. Why does a presidential campaign cost so much money? What do students know about how and from whom the money is raised? How can they find out more?

5. What is the role of polls in a campaign? How might results from them affect a candidate's behavior and speeches?

6. How does the candidate seem to want the public to perceive him/her? How can you tell?

7. What evidence, if any, is there that a candidate is subtly, or even not so subtly, changing his/her position on an issue or perhaps blurring answers to questions the candidate answered differently earlier? If there is such evidence of change, why is it happening? How does the candidate explain?

8. What is a caucus? a primary?

9. Why is so much media attention given to Iowa and New Hampshire?

10. Can students name the Democratic candidates? the Republican candidate? any other candidates?

11. What is the electoral system?

12. Where in the presidential election process is the country right now?

13. What issues are most important to students? Why?

14. What questions do students have about any of the items in the presidential campaign process? How might these questions be answered?

Other Activities


1. Candidate Assignments

Make a list of all the candidates (this might include Democratic Party candidates as well as George W. Bush and third-party contenders). For each candidate, ask for volunteers who would like to research that individual. If some candidates have no takers, while another candidate has many, have students who volunteered for the popular candidate draw names to determine who will be assigned to the uncovered candidate. (You could also simply assign candidates to students, although this may leave students feeling less of an investment in the candidate they are researching.)

Ask each student to find out about their candidate's background and his/her position on three issues of importance to the student. Allot time periodically for students to report what they have learned. If each candidate has at least two researchers, you might encourage students to work as a team to divide up research questions and confer on what they find.

Assign each student to write a letter to their candidate about a position or a lack of one on any of the issues studied. It can be useful for the student to include in the letter one or two questions for the candidate to answer (though if there is an answer, it will probably come from a staff member). Have students share any answers with the class.

2. Interviews

Conduct sessions in which some students play interviewers while others play the candidates being studied. For other sessions, reverse roles. "Interviewers" should have time to prepare their major questions. "Candidates" should have time to prepare for questions they think will be asked. Some interviews might be conducted simultaneously in pairs, others before the entire class.

These can conclude with a post-interview critique. Consider:

• What is a good question?
• How can students prepare to ask good follow-up questions?
• What is a good answer?

Politicians are notorious for their ability to answer questions with glib generalities or irrelevancies and to evade questions they prefer not to answer by segueing artfully into another subject. (For an analysis of these issues, see Benjamin DeMott's article "Junk Politics: A Voter's Guide to the Post-literate Election" in the November 2003 of Harper's magazine. The teacher may find it useful to share some of DeMott's observations with students as they consider questions and answers.)

3. Media Critique

Have students critically examine media treatment of the campaign. They might begin with an overview survey of newspaper, magazine, radio, TV and website reporting, analyzing and editorializing. Then they might begin to develop a set of questions to apply to what they read, see and hear. Questions should be clear, focused, and answerable. See The Doubting Game section of "Teaching Critical Thinking" for suggestions about asking and analyzing questions.

Some questions worth student consideration as they study presidential campaign reporting include the following:

• What is news, anyway--in this case, news about the presidential campaign?
• Who decides? How and why?
• What differences are there among the news media? For example, how does the presentation of campaign news on TV differ from that in a newspaper? How do they differ from a radio news story? How do you account for these differences?
• What does the location of a campaign news story show about the editors' sense of its importance? In a newspaper? A telecast? A broadcast?
• What can print convey that a photograph or film cannot and vice versa?
• What can a voice convey that is different still?
• What advantages does a TV campaign story have over a newspaper story? A radio story? What advantages might a newspaper story have? Can a radio story do anything that the two other media cannot? If so, what?
• Compare the lengths of featured TV campaign stories with front page newspaper reports and featured radio reports of the same story. What differences are there? How do you account for them?
• How do you define a factual statement? an inferential statement? an opinion?
• Why is recognizing differences among them important to a critical reading, viewing or hearing of a news story about the campaign?

4. Visit a Campaign Office

Many towns and cities have or will have campaign headquarters for candidates. Some older students may be interested in volunteering to work for a candidate of their choice and in keeping a journal on what they observe and think. Students might also wish to interview campaign workers on activities and issues of interest to them.

Website Resources

Many websites are useful for information-gathering and for sampling a range of opinions.

1. The Federal Election Commission (www.fec.gov) provides detailed information on regulations and fund-raising.

2. Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org) says it is "a citizen's organization dedicated to serving all Americans with accurate and unbiased information for electoral decision-making." It offers information on the electoral process, political parties and candidates (biographies, positions on issues, speeches, fundraising, etc.). At an associated site it has a variety of resources for students and classroom teachers. It includes links to other informational sites.

3. Center for Responsive Politics (www.crp.org) describes itself as a "non-profit research group...that tracks money in politics and its effects on elections and public policy." Its website specializes in and provides regular updates of campaign finance information. It answers such questions as How much money has a candidate raised? Where is the money coming from?

4. Other useful sites include:

Center for Public Integrity (www.publicintegrity.org )
Common Cause (www.commoncause.org)
Center for Voting and Democracy (www.fairvote.org)
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (www.fair.org)
Public Citizen (www.citizen.org)

5. All of the candidates and political parties have websites that provide information and public relations materials:

Bush: www.georgewbush.com
Clark: www.americansforclark.com
Dean: www.deanforamerica.com
Edwards: www.johnedwards2004.com
Gephardt: www.dickgephardt2004.com
Kerry: www.johnkerry.com
Kucinich: www.kucinich.us
Lieberman: www.joe2004.com
Moseley Braun: www.moseley-braun.org
Sharpton: www.al2004.org
Green Party: www.gp.org
Libertarian Party: www.lp.org

6. For reporting on and analysis of a presidential campaign in national and foreign newspapers and magazines, see the New York Times Navigator, www.newsdirectory.com and the Columbia Journalism Review at www.cjr.org for listings and links.

It is possible for students to follow not only what major U.S. newspapers and magazines are saying in their reports, analyses and editorials but also what is appearing in the print media in almost any other country. Radio, TV network and cable channels also have websites.

Other sources include such issue-oriented organizations as the National Rifle Association (www.nra.org) and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (www.bradycampaign.org), conservative thinktanks such as The Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org) and liberal sites such as Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org).

This lesson was written for TeachableMoment.Org, a project of Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. We welcome your comments. Please email author Alan Shapiro at: ashapiro7@comcast.net.

Back to top