Political Campaign

As the 2012 presidential campaign begins: Profiles of 12 men who have run for the presidency and lost, but who, even in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of those who have served as president - from Henry Clay to Stephen Douglas, William Jennings Bryan to Al Gore - Plus, mini-profiles on 22 "honorable mentions."

On August 31, 1939, nearing the end of his second and presumably final term in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was working in the Oval Office and contemplating construction of his presidential library and planning retirement. The next day German tanks had crossed the Polish border; Britain and France had declared war. Overnight the world had changed, and FDR found himself being forced to consider a dramatically different set of circumstances.

In this summary, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan. Most people would agree that democracy is broken yet we all know that it is the best governmental system we have. Despite it being the best system, we are facing an unprecedented crisis.

James L. Leloudis and Robert R. Korstad tell the story of race and voting rights, from the end of the Civil War until the present day. They show that battles over the franchise have played out through cycles of emancipatory politics and conservative retrenchment. When race has been used as an instrument of exclusion from political life, the result has been a society in which vast numbers of Americans are denied the elements of meaningful freedom: a good job, a good education, good health, and a good home.

As the voting public continues to diversify across the United States, political candidates, and particularly white candidates, increasingly recognize the importance of making appeals to voters who do not look like themselves. As history has shown, this has been accomplished with varying degrees of success. During the 2016 election, for example, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigned vociferously among Latino voters in Nevada's early primary, where 19 percent of the Democratic caucus consisted of Latinos.

When cybersecurity expert Jake Braun challenged hackers at DEFCON, the largest hacking conference in the world, to breach the security of an American voting machine, a hacker in Europe conquered the task in less than two minutes. From hacking into voting machines to more mundane, but no less serious problems, America's democracy faces unprecedented tests from within and without.

Still Winning is the story of the unlikeliest of heroes who emerged from the unlikeliest of places to take up the impossible cause of a truly forgotten people. They are people who love their country, trust their higher God, obey laws, and will do anything for their family and neighbors. They are the very people the Founders envisioned when they hatched the radical idea of self-governance.

Be the Change is an essential handbook for the modern activist, whether your campaign is big or small, local or global...or somewhere in between. If you want to challenge injustice in your school, workplace or community; if you want to lend your voice - and more - to a charitable cause close to your heart; or if you are inspired to take on a complex issue on a massive scale, Gina Martin's practical and empowering advice will give you the tools you need to ensure your voice is heard, your actions are noticed and your demands are met.

Women are wildly underrepresented at every level of the US government: federal, state, and local. Research has shown that women in executive government positions are far more likely than men to commit to policies that benefit women, girls, and other marginalized groups, so after centuries of underrepresentation, it's clear: Our best bet for creating a system that is more fair, balanced, and just for everyone is electing our first Madam President - as soon as we can.

In An Uncivil War, Washington Post journalist Greg Sargent vividly lifts the curtain on the nightmare dynamic that is transforming American politics into little more than a naked power struggle. Yet An Uncivil War is not only a thorough dissection of an ultimately immoral system, but a handbook for turning that around by restoring authentic democracy. Given the incredibly high stakes in 2018 and 2020, Sargent’s book could not be more essential.

During the 2016 election, a new term entered the American political lexicon: the "alt-right", short for "alternative right". Despite the innocuous name, the alt-right is a white-nationalist movement. Yet it differs from earlier racist groups: it is youthful and tech-savvy, obsessed with provocation and trolling, amorphous, predominantly online, and mostly anonymous. And it was energized by Donald Trump's presidential campaign. In Making Sense of the Alt-Right, George Hawley provides an accessible introduction to the alt-right, giving vital perspective.

New York Times best-selling author Tony Blankley prescribes a three-pronged approach as key to America's success in previous wars that must be "rediscovered" today. The political-correctness crowd will complain, but Blankley argues that this conservative manifesto to reestablish American grit is essential - our nation's very survival depends on it.

Donald Trump's rise from unlikely candidate to Republican presidential nominee has been one of the most chaotic, confusing campaigns in American history, and the country is still struggling to make sense of it all. But when looking for insight into Trump's candidacy, it's not his career as a developer or a reality show host - or the history of presidential politics - that provides the most insight: it's his time in the pro wrestling ring.

James Carville is the best-known and most-loved political consultant in American history. He is also a speaker, a talk-show host, an actor, and an author with six New York Times best sellers to his credit. Part of a large Southern family, he grew up without a television and loved to listen to the stories his mama told. Mr. Carville lives with his wife, Mary Matalin, and their two daughters in New Orleans.

In this thought-provoking and highly listenable book, Robert Mann provides a concise, engaging study of the "Daisy Girl" ad, widely acknowledged as the most important and memorable political ad in American history. Commissioned by Johnson's campaign and aired only once during Johnson's 1964 presidential contest against Barry Goldwater, it remains an iconic piece of electoral propaganda, intertwining cold war fears of nuclear annihilation with the increasingly savvy world of media and advertising.

In their new book, Unfit for Command, John O'Neill and co-author Jerome Corsi bring together the words of more than 200 Navy veterans who served with John Kerry and who feel it their duty to tell why Kerry is unworthy of the presidency.

Before the White House and Air Force One, before the TV ads and the enormous rallies, there was the real Barack Obama: A man wrestling with the momentous decision to run for the presidency, feeling torn about leaving behind a young family, and figuring out how to win the biggest prize in politics. This audiobook is the previously untold and epic story of how a political newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name Renegade.

The 2016 election is conservatives' last, best chance to take back the country. So how can they win? The answer, conservative columnist and analyst Ed Morrissey says, depends on seven battleground counties in swing states Republicans must win. Each county pulled for Obama in one or both of the last two elections, but after eight years of misadventures under the Obama administration, the door is open for Republicans to win them - and the presidency - once again, making a decisive mandate against progressivism for the generation to come.

Tehran, June 12, 2009. Mohsen Abbaspour, an ordinary young man in his 20s - not particularly political, or ambitious, or worldly - casts the first vote of his life in Iran's 10th presidential election. Fed up with rising unemployment and inflation, he backs the reformist party and its candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Mohsen believes his vote will count. It will not.

From Phyllis Schlafly, the woman whose celebrated classic, A Choice, Not an Echo, upended the 1964 Republican Convention, comes a persuasive new argument for a surprising conservative choice: Donald Trump. For the first time since 1980, a significant number of Republicans are considering abandoning their party's nominee. This is a grave mistake, Schlafly says, because a Donald Trump "radical redirection" could actually set America back on the path of Reagan's conservative revolution.