Sarah Palin s 2008 vice presidential candidacy garnered tremendous levels of interest, polarizing the American public both Democrats and Republicans alike. While many have wondered who she "really" is, trying to cut through the persona she projects and the one projected by the media, Beail and Longworth analyze why she touches such a nerve with the American electorate. Why does she ignite such passionate loyalty and such loathing? How did her candidacy mobilize new parts of the electorate?

Using the notion of "framing" as a way of understanding political perception, the authors analyze the narratives told by and about Sarah Palin in the 2008 election from beauty queen, maverick, faithful fundamentalist and post-feminist role model to pit bull hockey mom, frontier woman, and political outsider. They discuss where those frames are rooted historically in popular and political culture, why they were selected, and the ways that the frames resonated with the electorate.

Framing Sarah Palin addresses the question of what the choice and perception of these frames tells us about the state of American politics, and about the status of American women in politics in particular. What do the debates engendered by these images of Palin say about the current roles and power available to women in American society? What are the implications of her experience for future candidates, particularly women candidates, in American politics?

Sarah Palin s 2008 vice presidential candidacy garnered tremendous levels of interest, polarizing the American public both Democrats and Republicans alike. While many have wondered who she "really" is, trying to cut through the persona she projects and the one projected by the media, Beail and Longworth analyze why she touches such a nerve with the American electorate. Why does she ignite such passionate loyalty and such loathing? How did her candidacy mobilize new parts of the electorate?

Using the notion of "framing" as a way of understanding political perception, the authors analyze the narratives told by and about Sarah Palin in the 2008 election from beauty queen, maverick, faithful fundamentalist and post-feminist role model to pit bull hockey mom, frontier woman, and political outsider. They discuss where those frames are rooted historically in popular and political culture, why they were selected, and the ways that the frames resonated with the electorate.

Framing Sarah Palin addresses the question of what the choice and perception of these frames tells us about the state of American politics, and about the status of American women in politics in particular. What do the debates engendered by these images of Palin say about the current roles and power available to women in American society? What are the implications of her experience for future candidates, particularly women candidates, in American politics?

The president of the United States traditionally serves as a symbol of power, virtue, ability, dominance, popularity, and patriarchy. In recent years, however, the high-profile candidacies of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Bachmann have provoked new interest in gendered popular culture and how it influences Americans' perceptions of the country's highest political office. In this timely volume, editors Justin S. Vaughn and Lilly J. Goren lead a team of scholars in examining how the president and the first lady exist as a function of public expectations and cultural gender roles. The authors investigate how the candidates' messages are conveyed, altered, and interpreted in "hard" and "soft" media forums, from the nightly news to daytime talk shows, and from tabloids to the blogosphere. They also address the portrayal of the presidency in film and television productions such as Kisses for My President (1964), Air Force One (1997), and Commander in Chief (2005). With its strong, multidisciplinary approach, Women and the White House commences a wider discussion about the possibility of a female president in the United States, the ways in which popular perceptions of gender will impact her leadership, and the cultural challenges she will face.

Mad Men, using the historical backdrop of the many events that came to demarcate the 1960s, has presented a beautifully-styled rendering of this tumultuous decade, while teasing out a number of themes that resonate throughout the show and connect to the contemporary discourses that dominate today's political landscape. The chapters of this book analyze the most important dimensions explored on the show, including issues around gender, race, prejudice, the family, generational change, the social movements of the 1960s, our understanding of America's place in the world, and the idea of work in the post-war period. Mad Men and Politics provides the reader with an understanding not only of the topics and issues that can be easily grasped while watching, but also contemplates our historical perspective of the 1960s as we consider it through the telescope of our current condition.

Synopsis: Results May Vary addresses the unspoken assumptions and unquestioned expectations about what it means to be a Christian woman in a complex world. Far from offering a simple checklist or selling advice, this collection of essays weaves together a rich variety of voices--from women of different ages, backgrounds, professions, disciplines, and life choices--speaking honestly about the unexpected yet grace-infused twists and turns of life that exude the faithfulness of God in every unanticipated detail. For young women in their twenties and thirties tackling post-college life, Results May Vary offers the wry and diverse stories of real women grappling with real-world issues like friendship, health, money, ambition, vocation, marriage, motherhood, sexuality, and spiritual life. Endorsements: Results May Vary addresses the unspoken assumptions and unquestioned expectations about what it means to be a Christian woman in a complex world. Far from offering a simple checklist or selling advice, this collection of essays weaves together a rich variety of voices--from women of different ages, backgrounds, professions, disciplines, and life choices--speaking honestly about the unexpected yet grace-infused twists and turns of life that exude the faithfulness of God in every unanticipated detail. For young women in their twenties and thirties tackling post-college life, Results May Vary offers the wry and diverse stories of real women grappling with real-world issues like friendship, health, money, ambition, vocation, marriage, motherhood, sexuality, and spiritual life. Author Biography: Linda Beail is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Margaret Stevenson Center for Women's Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. She is the author of Framing Sarah Palin: Pit Bulls, Puritans and Politics (Routledge, 2012). Sylvia Cortez Masyuk worked as Director of Discipleship Ministries at Point Loma Nazarene University for eleven years where she collaborated with faculty and staff to develop creative programs for students in the area of Christian formation.