TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ⎯ With the presidential campaign season in full swing, Florida State University’s nationally regarded experts in communication and rhetoric, the economy, election law, life in the White House, and voter behavior and trends are available to provide analysis, commentary and historical perspective.
COMMUNICATION AND RHETORIC
Jeanette Castillo, assistant professor of communication/digital media(812) 272-3307; [email protected]Castillo can discuss new media and politics, particularly the role of Facebook and Twitter in political campaigns. She focuses on citizen-generated media and the role of comedy in democratic processes.
“Social media has become a major force in political campaigns,” Castillo said. “With the power to spread gaffes, create memes and enlist supporters to sing in harmony with a political message, social media has finally reached a saturation point. The wonderful, the horrible and the adorable all have the power to go viral, and can make or break a politician’s image with the click of a mouse.”
Davis Houck, professor of communication(850) 644-1607 or (850) 980-2656; [email protected]Houck can discuss political advertising, news coverage and speech making. He is an expert on the American civil rights movement, war rhetoric, propaganda and media campaigns.
“As with all elections, outcomes will hinge on naming, framing and public argument,” Houck said. “That’s what we do in a rhetorical democracy.”
Felipe Korzenny, professor and director, Florida State’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication(850) 583-0378; [email protected]Korzenny has 30 years of experience researching consumer behavior among Hispanic Americans. Founder of Florida State’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication and author of “Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer,” he can address the best ways to engage Hispanic voters, as well as voting behavior in Florida and across the nation.
“Hispanic voters are now a lot more savvy than they have ever been and are aware of the value of their vote,” Korzenny said. “They need sincere approaches to solve the real problems that confront the Latino community.”
THE ECONOMY
James Gwartney, director of Florida State’s Gus A. Stavros Center for Economic Education and professor of economics(850) 644-7645; [email protected]Gwartney can discuss the kinds of macroeconomic issues that are typically discussed in election years, such as taxes, budget deficits, monetary policy and unemployment.
“This election is vitally important because the debt-to-income ratio of both the federal government and household sectors are at historic highs, and this has undermined the ability of traditional policy tools to stimulate the economy,” Gwartney said. “Economists and policy makers are divided on how to deal with this issue. The candidate and party that can convince voters they know best how to deal with this situation will win the election.”
Randall G. Holcombe, the DeVoe L. Moore Professor of Economics(850) 644-7095; [email protected]Holcombe can discuss the effect of government activity on economic growth.
“The economy is a big issue in this year’s election, and there seems to be the presumption that government should take an active role in stimulating growth and lowering unemployment,” Holcombe said. “In reality, government can do relatively little to stimulate the economy but can do a lot to slow it down. We ought to be wary of campaign promises for government programs that will create jobs or create growth. Prosperity is created in the private sector, not by government.”
Mark Isaac, Florida State’s John and Hallie Quinn Eminent Scholar for Renewal of American Heritage and American Free Enterprise, and professor and chairman of the Department of Economics(850) 644-7081; [email protected]Isaac can discuss the national economy as it relates to energy policy and government regulation.
Milton H. Marquis, professor of economics(850) 645-1526; [email protected]Marquis, who served the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco as Research Department senior economist from 2000 to 2003 and as visiting scholar in 2005-2006 and 2009, can discuss monetary theory, monetary policy and macroeconomic theory (which relates to taxes and budget deficits).
“The outcome of the presidential and congressional elections could turn on the strength of the economic recovery between now and November,” Marquis said. “Most forecasters foresee a period of slow growth with only a modest reduction in the current high unemployment rate. The key factors to watch are whether the housing market has finally started to turn and whether a resolution to the euro currency crisis can be found that doesn’t drag the Eurozone deeper into recession. The challenge for the Obama administration is to avoid inappropriate austerity measures while putting into place a credible, long-run fiscal policy that reduces the deficit, primarily by dealing with exploding Medicare and Medicaid costs.”
ELECTION LAW
Franita Tolson, assistant professor of law(850) 644-7402; [email protected]Tolson can discuss campaign strategy, issues most likely to affect the election outcome, the politics of swing states, and any other matters that are of importance to the election.
“This election will be about the economy, but in the coming months, expect to see this issue take a backseat from time to time because of the distractions, missteps, misquotes and controversies that make for great news,” Tolson said. “At the end of the day, however, voters will choose the next president based on the health of their wallets and will not vote based on the gaffes that the politicians make on the campaign trail. The best campaign strategy is one that never loses sight of this fact.”
LIFE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, professor of retail promotion and product development, College of Human Sciences(850) 644-6893; [email protected] Goldsmith’s expertise is on the day-to-day living of first families and inaugural celebrations including the inaugural luncheon and related activities. She has been a researcher and guest at the White House since first invited by the Office of the Curator in 1992. On her sabbatical last year, she studied at the John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover presidential libraries. She has published research about the White House and enjoys a level of access rarely extended to academicians, having interviewed chefs, former housekeepers and other staff members.
“People have been fascinated by what White House residents eat since George Washington’s time — he liked fish,” Goldsmith said. “The inaugural luncheon is the first meal that new presidents eat, so it provides a clue. Harking back to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, President Obama’s 2009 inaugural lunch menu consisted of seafood stew followed by a brace of American birds with sour cherry chutney and molasses sweet potatoes, followed by apple cinnamon sponge cake. What can we expect in 2013? Local caterers in Washington, D.C., are competing for the honor. It will be a new theme, but most likely 230 guests will be invited to Statuary Hall, the setting since 1981.”
VOTER BEHAVIOR AND TRENDS
William Claggett, associate professor of political science(850) 644-7326; [email protected]Claggett, whose principal research and teaching interests are electoral behavior, political parties and historical perspectives on political change in the United States, can discuss national election outcomes, voter turnout and long-term changes in electoral support.
Lance deHaven-Smith, professor of public administration and policy(850) 567-8636 or (850) 878-9808; [email protected]DeHaven-Smith is the author or co-author of 15 books including “Florida’s Megatrends: Critical Issues in Florida,” “The Florida Voter” and “The Battle for Florida” about the 2000 election. He can discuss demographic and partisan trends and voting behavior in Florida. He also can discuss election crime detection — any of a number of problems that leave election outcomes in doubt, including election tampering (rigging voting machines), vote fraud (the casting of votes illegally), election breakdowns (failure to provide enough voting machines in urban areas), voter suppression (such as police checking licenses at checkpoints near voting places), machine error (all tabulation systems have error rates of 1 percent to 3 percent of total votes cast), malfeasance and nonfeasance in election administration, and malicious implementation of felon disenfranchisement laws.
“All elections have these problems,” deHaven-Smith said. “They only draw attention when elections are very close. Florida has close elections.”
John Barry Ryan, assistant professor of political science(850) 644-7324, office; cell (530) 902-3738, cell; [email protected]Ryan teaches and conducts research on issues related to vote decisions, campaigns and media coverage of elections.
"In every election, the candidates have to play the hand dealt to them by events and their biography,” Ryan said. “This year, neither candidate has a clear winning hand, which should make for an exciting — and contentious — campaign."
Carol Weissert, Florida State’s LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar Chair and professor of political science(850) 644-7320 or (850) 297-0111; [email protected]Weissert teaches American national and state politics. Her research interests include Florida politics, elections, intergovernmental relations, federalism and health policy.
“This election is going to be about the economy, plain and simple,” Weissert said. “Much depends on what happens over the next few months in key indicators like unemployment and consumer confidence. An important sideshow will be the enormous campaign spending that will break every previous record. The Supreme Court’s Citizens United opinion opened the barn door to unregulated spending unlike what we have ever seen. It won’t be pretty.”
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