The Forum: Second Thoughts on Presidential Politics |
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| Authors: | Janet M Ruane Karen A Cerulo |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Sociology, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043;2. e‐mail: .;3. Department of Sociology, Rutgers University, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854‐8045 |
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| Abstract: | In this essay, we confront the “conventional wisdoms” promoted throughout this long presidential campaign. By conventional wisdoms, we mean the common knowledge of politics—the things that commentators and analysts forward as taken‐for‐granted assertions and beliefs. We will revisit just a few of the campaign season’s conventional wisdoms and review them with a sociological eye. In so doing, we find that in politics, as in most other areas, conventional wisdom can be a risky source of knowledge. |
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| Keywords: | campaigns conventional wisdom cultural practices elections politics social patterns |
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