Most and Least Entertaining Elections

[Del Tachi]

2004 is quite interesting from a historical perspective.

In many ways it can be considered the last "old school" election.  Traditional media basically controlled the stream of information to the voter during this election cycle; there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no YouTube and very little in terms of online citizen journalism.  In only four short year, 2008 would transform how voters expect to gain their information forever.  In that respect, I think that 2004 will be interesting to study from a historical perspective--as it could be said to the culmination of social and political trends that had been set in the days just after WWII.

And what do you mean that 2004 was “2000 without the closeness”?  Comparing 2004 to its predecessor (while convenient because of their historical proximity) neglects the fact that, of-and-to-itself, 2004 was an extremely close election where the expected outcome was not already known when the polls opened that Tuesday morning--considering that that is the norm in most elections.

Also note that 2004 produced  a starkly polarized electoral map, and the implications of the “blue state/red state” divide that were discussed following this election helped to frame “culture war” of the late 20th/early 21st century in a new, partisan political context.