ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with painting a broad picture of campaigns and elections in the United States. It introduces a new element—campaign ethics—and revisits the phenomenon of the "permanent campaign". A discussion of campaigns and elections from an ethical standpoint provides standards for judging the health of the system. The permanent campaign allows us to explore the nexus between campaigning and governing and the future of both. Campaigns and elections are among the most important events in the life of a democracy. Campaigns help the citizenry come to a collective decision about who should control the levers of power in the country and elections make the use of those levers legitimate. The permanent campaign was perfected in the Bill Clinton administration and showed no signs of abating under either George W. Bush or Barack Obama. Polling is a significant aspect of the permanent campaign.
