The Values Divide - American Politics and Culture in Transition (Paperback, Revised edition)

In choosing candidates for political office, values (both those held by voters and those of prospective officeholders) have overtaken economics to become key determinants in the voting choice. Since the 1960s the American public has wrestled with changes in public and private values. Typical family life no longer involves a husband, a wife, and the prototypical two children. The idealized Cleaver, Nelson, and Huxtable families once portrayed on television now mirror a minority of the American electorate. "The Values Divide," John White's fascinating new book, explores the increasingly dominant role values play in today's public and private life, concluding that a serious rift in political and cultural values actually produced the astounding tie between George W. Bush and Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. White argues that while politically important, the present values "divide" goes much deeper than cultural conflicts between Republicans and Democrats. Today, citizens are reexamining their own intimate values including how they work, live, and interact with each other in a country whose population is rapidly changing. Collectively, the answers to these value questions have remade both American politics and the popular culture. Reflecting upon these divergent personal choices, White concludes that one further question remains: "What does it mean to be an American?" Features: Compiles extensive current public opinion polling data from The Roper Center at the University of Connecticut at key moments in recent American history including during the Columbine tragedy, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Clinton's impeachment, and the Election of 2000 to present a snapshot of American valuesas we enter the 21st century. Provides a compelling explanation for the outcome of Election 2000 and the prospects for the Republican and Democratic political agenda over the long-term.