AFRICAN-AMERICAN VOTER ISSUES

President Bush's refusal to speak at the NAACP convention was a political calculation, showing that his campaign believed that energizing his conservative supporters was more important than ceding most African-American votes to the Democrats, says Bruce Payne, a lecturer in the Hart Leadership Program at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. (919) 613-7346 or bruce.payne@duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

back to top

DEBATES

How will the results of the presidential election affect U.S. businesses? Not much, according to a poll of chief financial officers by Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Contacts are John Graham, professor of finance and director of the quarterly CFO Outlook Survey, (919) 660-7857 or john.graham@duke.edu, and Campbell R. Harvey, professor of finance, (919) 660-7768 or cam.harvey@duke.edu.

The economy/stock market may emerge as the key determinant in the 2004 presidential election, says Jerry Hough, James B. Duke Professor of Political Science who teaches two courses on the American presidency and recently completed a book on the Electoral College and party realignment. (919) 660-4347 or jhough@duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

back to top

EDWARDS AND SOUTHERN VOTERS

The choice of Sen. John Edwards -- with his Southern identity, youth, charisma and positive message -- as Sen. John Kerry's running mate has forced President Bush to defend his advantage in the South, says Michael Munger, chair of Duke's political science department whose research interests include presidential campaign strategies and the Electoral College. (919) 660-4301 or munger@duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

back to top

INTELLIGENCE/SECURITY/MILITARY ISSUES

Reinstating a draft is not the answer to perceived problems with military recruitment, says Ted Triebel, a visiting lecturer at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and former Navy fighter pilot who served in the Pentagon as a national security policy officer. (919) 613-7369 or triebel@pps.duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

Creating a Cabinet-level national intelligence chief will not make America safer or better able to gather and analyze security threats, says Richard Stubbing, a professor emeritus of the practice of public policy studies who from 1974 to 1981 was responsible for the defense and intelligence budgets at the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB). (919) 613-7369 or stubbing@pps.duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

How will the military vote in this election? Contact Christopher Gelpi, assistant professor of political science, (919) 660-4318 or gelpi@duke.edu.

John Kerry's mid-September speech at New York University attacking the Bush Administration's handling of the war in Iraq offered voters critical information about how Kerry would handle the conflict, says Bruce Jentleson, director of Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and the author of several books on U.S. foreign policy. (919) 613-7309 or bwj@pps.duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

back to top

MEDIA COVERAGE

Susan Tifft, professor of the practice of journalism and public policy, has been following media coverage of the campaign, including issues related to media ethics. She worked as a national writer and associate editor for TIME from 1982-91. (919) 613-7342 or tifft@pps.duke.edu.

back to top

RELIGION, ENVIRONMENT AND THE PRESIDENCY

If President Bush is going to live out his own faith commitment, he must take seriously criticism that his pollution initiatives, known as the 'Clear Skies' initiative, violate "fundamental moral responsibilities as set out by the Bible," says Duke Divinity School professor Ellen Davis. (919) 660-3561 or edavis@div.duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

back to top

YOUNG VOTERS

The new generation of voters could decide the next presidential election, but it's unclear which way these voters might lean, says Alma Blount, director of the Hart Leadership Program at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy. "This group is the wild card," she says. (919) 613-7323 or blt@duke.edu
-- To read more, visit this site.

Note to broadcast editors: Duke provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. We are also equipped with ISDN connectivity for radio interviews. Broadcast reporters should contact the Office of Radio-TV Services at (919) 681-8067 to arrange an interview.