by James David Barber ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 1980
Not content to ruminate, like everyone else, on TV and the modern Presidency, Duke political scientist Barber (The Presidential Character) argues that the media in general have critically influenced the whole tenor of Presidential politics since the turn of the century--which is stretching the ""media age"" to geriatric proportions. But Barber doesn't merely demonstrate, once again, how Teddy Roosevelt lived off yellow journalism à la Hearst, or how Franklin Roosevelt used the radio; he tries to show that underneath the raucousness of media politics there exists a pattern, or ""pulse,"" which the media help to shape. This pattern consists of twelve-year cycles of ""conflict, conscience, and conciliation."" All three are intrinsic to politics, but Barber argues that one of the three has dominated in every 20th-century presidential election, and that the order continually repeats itself. In the most recent past, for example, 1960 was a year of conflict both within and between the parties, 1964 a year of moral crusade, 1968 a year of conciliation (Nixon's ""togetherness""); 1972 brought conflict again, and 1976 Carter's moral suasion. The upshot: if you want to get elected this year, you'd better start conciliating. The cycles are not inherent, according to Barber, but largely created by the media (no explanation), with the successful politician the one who catches on to the rhythm; presumably, then, the cycle could be broken. The problem, though, is whether he has succeeded in establishing the scheme--which he admits is a simplification. Looking at 1968 and 1972, who would quickly say which contained more conflict? Aside from Carter, Wilson, and Truman, how much moral crusading has there in fact been? (Barry Goldwater a moral crusader?) But the basic difficulty is that Barber hasn't provided anything like a systematic theory of the media; all he has shown is that some segments of the media and certain candidates hit it off--and after the election, they look like a winning combination. The media over-hype the candidates, and so does Barber in reducing the study of the Presidency to the study of campaigns. His work will no doubt please the media, so watch for him on TV; but his book, like television, is superficial and arbitrary.
Pub Date: May 3, 1980
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1980
Categories: NONFICTION
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