September 30, 2008

Contact:
Leah Harris, 404-413-1354
University Relations

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Georgia State experts discuss presidential election

Experts from Georgia State University are available to comment on a variety of topics connected to the 2008 elections, including energy issues, foreign policy, debates, rhetoric, advertisements and voting behavior. To speak with these experts, call the Department of University Relations at 404-413-1354.

Presidential Politics

Daniel Franklin, associate professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, is an expert on American politics, legislative politics and executive politics. Call Franklin at 404-413-6182 or e-mail him at dfrankli@gsu.edu.

Debates and Rhetoric

Joe Bellon, director of the debate program at Georgia State, is an expert on debate-related issues for national campaigns. Call Bellon at 404-413-5631 (office) or e-mail him at jbellon@gsu.edu.

Carol Winkler, Associate Dean for the Humanities and professor of communication, is an expert on presidential foreign policy rhetoric, argumentation and debate, and visual communication. Winkler can be reached at (404) 413-5656 or cwinkler@gsu.edu.

Elections

Henry “Chip” Carey, associate professor of political science, is available to speak on any aspect of the elections, including polling, religion in politics, foreign policy, television advertising and the role of consultants. Call Carey at 404-413-6178 (office) or e-mail him at hcarey@gsu.edu.

Economy

Jon Rork, an assistant professor of economics at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, specializes in urban and regional economics, as well as state and local public finance. He can be reached at 404-413-0253 or jrork@gsu.edu.

Voting Behavior

Rich Engstrom, assistant professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, is an expert on elections, voting behavior, parties and interest groups and electoral politics. Call Engstrom at 404-413-6174 or e-mail him at engstrom@gsu.edu.

Jeff Lazarus, assistant professor of political science, teaches courses and conducts research on American politics and electoral behavior. Call Lazarus at 404-413-6186 or e-mail him at jlazarus@gsu.edu.

Jason Reifler, assistant professor of political science, is an expert on public opinion and political behavior. Call Reifler at 404-413-6176 or e-mail him at jreifler@gsu.edu.

Sean Richey, assistant professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, teaches courses and conducts research on American politics, political behavior and elections, voting and civic engagement. Call Richey at 404-413-6152 (office) or e-mail him at srichey@gsu.edu.

Media and Politics

Greg Lisby, professor of communication in the College of Arts and Sciences, is an expert on media ethics and communication law in relation to election coverage. Call Lisby at 404-413-5600 (office) or e-mail glisby@gsu.edu.

Mary Stuckey, professor of communication and political science, is an expert in rhetoric, public appeals, ads and media coverage. Stuckey has written eight books including, “The President as Interpreter-in-Chief, Strategic Failures in the Modern Presidency,” and “Defining Americans: The Presidency and National Identity.” Stuckey can be reached at (404) 413-5642or e-mail mstuckey@gsu.edu.

International Policy

William Downs, chair of the Department of Political Science at Georgia State, is an expert on the international dimensions of U.S. elections, particularly the implications for U.S. relations with foreign powers, and international opinion about the U.S. elections. Call Downs at 404-413-6170 (office) or e-mail him at wdowns2@gsu.edu.

Charles Hankla, assistant professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, is an expert on foreign policy and trade policy. Call Hankla at 404-413-6172 or e-mail him at chankla@gsu.edu.

Michael Herb, associate professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, teaches courses and conducts research on the Middle East in the context of the U.S. elections. Call Herb at 404-413-6184 (office) or 404-835-7984 (home) or e-mail herb@gsu.edu.

Energy Policy

John Duffield, professor of political science, is an expert on energy policy and foreign policy, especially security and defense issues. He is the author of “Over a Barrel: The Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence.” Call Duffield at 404-413-6164 or e-mail him at duffield@gsu.edu.

Healthcare Accounts

With a focus on Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Georgia State Associate Economics Professor James Marton is available to discuss an issue on both candidates’ plates: health insurance programs. The candidates’ plans to expand coverage to the uninsured differ, but “Some of the pressing health policy issues facing the next administration include the continued financing of current health insurance programs (Medicare and Medicaid) at both the federal and state level, the growing number of uninsured, and the evaluation of new medical technology,” Marton said. Marton, a health economist, has also written about participation in Flexible Spending Accounts and retiree health benefit coverage. He can be reached at 404-413-0256 or marton@gsu.edu.

Homeland Security and emergency management

Robert Friedmann, professor of criminal justice and Distinguished Chair in Public Safety Partnerships. Friedmann’s research specialties include crime analysis, public safety executive development, homeland security and community policing. He is also the director of the International Law Enforcement Exchange, and the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange.

William Waugh, a professor of public administration, is an expert on emergency management and homeland security. “A challenge for the next president will be repairing the national emergency management system so that we can adequately respond to the next catastrophic natural or man-made disaster,” Waugh says. “The poor response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that we were ill-prepared for a major event. Effective leadership is essential if we are to deal with the pandemics, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks, and other disasters, including climate change, that are certain to occur.” He can be reached at 404-413-0119 wwaugh@gsu.edu.

African-American Politics

Allison Calhoun-Brown, associate professor of political science in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State, is an expert on African-American politics, electoral behavior and public opinion and American government and politics. Call Calhoun-Brown at 404-413-6175 or e-mail her at acalhounbrown@gsu.edu.

Education

When it comes to education, the top legislative priority in 2009 will be No Child Left Behind. Both Barack Obama and John McCain support renewal of the law, but neither has clearly articulated what they would change in the legislation, which makes it difficult for voters to differentiate between the two candidates on this issue, says Philo Hutcheson, Georgia State associate professor of educational policy studies. “Neither candidate promises much,” Hutcheson says. “…In either case, educators are left with a raw fact; federal intrusion into the schools does little to improve student knowledge levels.” To speak with Hutcheson about education and the presidential election, please contact Liz Babiarz at 404-413-1356 or lbabiarz@gsu.edu.

Supreme Court

Eric Segall, a professor who teaches federal courts and constitutional law at Georgia State's College of Law, is among many legal experts available to comment on the Supreme Court nominations expected to be made by the next president. Segall has articles featured in numerous publications including the UCLA Law Review, the George Washington Law Review and the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. He also is a frequent contributor to Constitutional Commentary. Call Segall at 404-413-9161 or e-mail esegall@gsu.edu.

Neil Kinkopf, associate professor of law, is also available for interviews regarding the Supreme Court nomination. While working in the White House counsel's office, Kinkopf was involved with judicial selection, vetting and cabinet nominations during the Clinton administration. Call Kinkopf at 404-413-9192 or nkinkopf@gsu.edu.

Media and politics

Ann Williams, assistant professor of communications, specializes in political communication, media effects, public opinion, election behavior, new information technologies and interpersonal and social networks. During the 2004 election, Williams conducted a national panel survey to examine the impact new media technologies have on political decision-making and democratic participation. Williams can be reached at 404-413-5792 or e-mail her at annwilliams@gsu.edu.

Consumer behavior

Specializing in consumer behavior and strategic marketing management, Georgia State University Regents’ Professor and Taylor E. Little Jr. Professor of Marketing Kenneth Bernhardt is available to discuss how the presidential candidates are taking pages from consumer marketing playbooks and utilizing new media to reach farther than ever. “Political candidates have learned from the best consumer marketers,” Bernhardt said. “Today campaigns focus on far more than just advertising: they use consumer research to help develop the ‘product.’ Candidates fight for votes just like marketers fight for consumers’ dollars. New media and social networking have become increasingly important in both cases and continuous monitoring of the attitudes and likely (voting) behavior of the target market is ongoing.” Bernhardt can be reached at 404-413-7688 or kbernhardt@gsu.edu.

Office politics

When you’re this close to the presidential election, it’s hard not to discuss the candidates, but Georgia State University associate professor William Kahnweiler says such discussions can cause rifts around the office. “Discussing politics at work can be a touchy issue given that some of us feel very strongly about our political leanings as well as those of the opposition,” says Kahnweiler, a professor of public management and policy who specializes in employee leadership and motivation. While there are firms on both sides of the spectrum – those that strictly forbid such discussion and those where anything goes – Kahnweiler says most fall somewhere in the middle. “They may not have a formal policy pertaining to discussing politics in the workplace, and at the same time informally monitor such discussions to assure they do not get out of hand,” he said. To speak with Kahnweiler, contact Michael Davis at 404-413-1361 or mdavis6@gsu.edu.