US political environment is not conducive to strong European-style parties capable of controlling nominations and running political campaigns. American parties are principally electoral institutions that centre more on elections and less on initiating policy change than do most Western parties. Members of the legislature seldom owe their election to the party and therefore numerical majorities may not translate into policy majorities; individual members are not bound either to work or to vote with their fellow party members. When party interests are in conflict with the personal interests of members of Congress there is usually a break with party policy. Unlike MPs in Canada, Britain or Australia, US legislators have substantial freedom of choice.
Scholars of American politics have engaged in a lively and controversial debate regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the US institutional players. For much of the twentieth century, Congress and political parties have been seen to be in decline relative to presidential powers. Emancipation of presidential politics from the constraints of party organizations stemmed from the political and constitutional legacy of the New Deal when Franklin elano Roosevelt totally dominated Washington politics (Samuel Eldersveld, 1982).
Coupled with the rise of strong presidential leadership was the inability of members of Congress to overcome their particularistic interests, which led them to abdicate their responsibilities in many key policy areas to the executive branch. The ascendancy of presidential power was further reinforced by the decline of American parties as central actors in the policymaking process. Political parties appeared increasingly irrelevant thanks to the diffusion of interest-group liberalism, the emergence of the candidate-centered politics, and the emphasis placed by mass media on candidates rather than parties (Malcolm E. Jewell and David M. Olson , 1982).
The sea-change in electioneering which has occurred over the last forty years can be highlighted by contrasting the 1948 and 1952 presidential campaigns................
