William T. Horner

While Richard Nixon's accomplishments and shortcomings are well-documented, one often ignored aspect of his career is his influence on the media conduct of politicians. Nixon pioneered the use of visual media in politics, beginning in the 1940s during his Congressional service. His historic "Checkers" speech was the first of its kind: a politician using television to save his political career. His appearances on entertainment television, which are now a normal feature of most national political campaigns, broke new ground as well. This book details the blueprint Nixon set for using television to achieve political goals. Presidents have often used innovative media as strategic methods of communication and public relations. The author argues that Nixon pioneered television media, using it consistently to connect with the American public.

Television and the Making of Richard Nixon

For a decade straddling the turn of the twentieth century, Mark Hanna was one of the most famous men in America. Portrayed as the puppet master controlling the weak-willed William McKinley, Hanna was loved by most Republicans and reviled by Democrats, in large part because of the way he was portrayed by the media of the day. Newspapers and other media outlets that supported McKinley reported positively about Hanna, but those sympathetic to William Jennings Bryan, the Democrats' presidential nominee in 1896 and 1900, attacked Hanna far more aggressively than they attacked McKinley himself. Their portrayal of Hanna was wrong, but powerful, and this negative image of him survives to this day. In this study of Mark Hanna's career in presidential politics, William T. Horner demonstrates the flaws inherent in the ways the news media cover politics. He deconstructs the myths that surround Hanna and demonstrates the dangerous and long-lasting effect that inaccurate reporting can have on our understanding of politics. When Karl Rove emerged as the political adviser to George W. Bush's presidential campaigns, the reporters quickly began to compare Rove to Hanna even a century after Hanna's death. The two men played vastly different roles for the presidents they served, but modern reporters consistently described Rove as the second coming of Mark Hanna, another political Svengali. Ohio's Kingmaker is the story of a fascinating character in American politics and serves to remind us of the power of (mis)perceptions.

Mark Hanna, Man and Myth

Ohio’s Kingmaker

M. Heather Carver

Two remarkable events occurred during 1976: The debut of Saturday Night Live and the Presidential Election pitting Gerald Ford against Jimmy Carter. Both events had profound and enduring influence on shaping the country America is today. When Saturday Night Live premiered, the show's impact was evident very quickly, as it grabbed huge ratings and several Emmy Awards in its first season; made household names of its seven original stars; and had a remarkable influence on popular and political culture with its mix of music, comedy, and live theater. In April of 1976, while he was in the midst of a fight for the Republican presidential nomination and his political survival, President Gerald Ford gave his press secretary, Ron Nessen, permission to become the first politician to guest host NBC's Saturday Night. In addition to Nessen, the President also appeared on the show, via video tape, to introduce his press secretary and to offer a comic counterpunch to Chevy Chase's signature line, "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not," at the beginning of "Weekend Update." Ever since Nessen's and Ford's appearances, it has become a rite of passage for politicians with a national profile, or those with a desire to have a national presence, to appear on Saturday Night Live, and the show's treatment of those politicians and many political topics has had a continuing impact on Americans' feelings and discussions about politics. This book is the first to examine the ground-shaking collision of SNL and Presidential Politics when it all began.

A New Voice Enters Campaign Politics

Saturday Night Live and the 1976 Presidential Election

When the Missouri state legislature overrode Governor Bob Holden's veto in 2003 to make conceal-and-carry the law of the land, the Show-Me State became one of the last in the country to adopt this type of law. In fact, it took years of concerted effort on the part of pro-gun advocates to make this a reality. In Showdown in the Show-Me State, William Horner chronicles this complex and fascinating fight in clear, chronological order beginning with the first bill introduced into the Missouri General Assembly in 1992 and ending with the state supreme court's decision in 2004 that Missouri's constitution permitted the legislature to grant Missourians the right to carry concealed weapons. There is, it is often argued, no state more typically "American" than Missouri. The state is closely divided along partisan lines, as is the nation as a whole, and in the previous century, Missouri voters have regularly chosen the winner in almost every presidential election. By offering an examination of guns and gun policy in Missouri, this book provides a glimpse into the hearts and minds of Missourians and, by extension, of mainstream America as well. Horner's in-depth case study details the give-and-take among legislators and examines the role that interest groups played in the evolution of this divisive issue. Horner's book--part policy analysis, part interest group study, and part history--will appeal to readers with an interest in the issue of gun control or in the political process, and it will provide a thorough resource for those who study policy making at the state level.

The Fight Over Conceal-and-carry Gun Laws in Missouri

Showdown in the Show-Me State

Two events in 1976 had enduring effects on American culture—the debut of Saturday Night Live and the presidential election pitting Gerald Ford against Jimmy Carter. With its mix of sketch comedy and music, SNL grabbed huge ratings and several Emmys in its first season and made household names of its seven original cast members. While fighting for the Republican presidential nomination (and his political survival) President Ford allowed his press secretary, Ron Nessen, to guest-host SNL—the first politician to do so. Ford also appeared on the show, via video tape, to offer a comic counterpunch to Chevy Chase’s signature line, “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not." In the election seasons that followed, it became a rite of passage for politicians establishing a national profile to appear on SNL, while the show's treatment of them and their platforms has had a continuing impact on political discourse.

William T. Horner

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