This book provides a comprehensive treatment of political parties and elections in the United States. It covers all elements of parties and the electoral process, including local, state, and national party organizations, American party history and party systems, state and local nominations, state and local elections, presidential nominations, and presidential elections. Separate chapters are devoted to the important subjects of the media in the electoral process and campaign finance. A historical perspective is present throughout. The role of political parties in and the contributions of political parties to representative democracy are examined critically. Stay on top of Prof. Maisel''s latest musings and predictions via his regular column in the Maine Morning Sentinel. Come back to this site for links to each column as they''re made available on the website of the Morning Sentinel: 2/1/08 Sandy Maisel column: Everyone Wants Change 2/15/08 Sandy Maisel column: Long Primary Season 5/30/08 NPR story featuring analysis by Sandy Maisel: Battles over Party Nominees Are Old Hat, Bad News 6/6/08 Sandy Maisel column: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton 6/20/08 Sandy Maisel column: Candidates'' Views on Guantanamo 6/24/08 article featuring analysis by Sandy Maisel: Splitting electoral college votes nationwide could have big impact 8/1/08 Sandy Maisel column:What''s the Point of a Presidential Campaign? 9/19/08 Joseph Reiser column: Brits Confused By Our Populist System 9/26/08 Sandy Maisel column: The Debate Moderators'' Challenge 10/10/08 Sandy Maisel column: New President Will Likely Work with Democratic Congress 10/31/08 Joseph Reiser column: Election Notable for Embracing New Ideas 11/4/08 article featuring analysis by Sandy Maisel: Is today''s election a momentous one? 11/5/08 article featuring analysis by Sandy Maisel: History replete with turning-point elections 11/7/08 Sandy Maisel column: Obama''s personal prestige should help him with D.C. power brokers 11/21/08 Sandy Maisel column: With latest picks, Obama chooses staff with clear qualifications 12/5/08 Sandy Maisel column: Bush using last weeks in office to further his agenda, help friends 12/19/08 Sandy Maisel column: When campaign workers convene, common themes become clear 1/2/09 Sandy Maisel column: Obama merges Nixon efficiency, FDR, JFK intellectual confidence 1/16/09 Sandy Maisel column: Bush still doesn''t understand why people turned ''hostile'' to him 2/13/09 Sandy Maisel column: Is bipartisanship needed for action on stimulus package? 2/27/09 Sandy Maisel column: Obama''s speech to nation inspired without sugar-coating 3/13/09 Sandy Maisel column: Lots of 24-7 news coverage, but what sources can you trust? 3/27/09 Sandy Maisel column: In this time of economic pain, we''re flinging anger around 4/10/09 Sandy Maisel column: Mainers are exceptional, but even we can learn from others