ABSTRACT
In the short history of modern U.S. environmental politics, the 2008 presidential campaign stands out in several respects. It was the first in which energy and environmental issues emerged as leading concerns, and it was the only one in which both major party candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, agreed on the imperative of fighting global climate change-even if they differed significantly in their proposed solutions.1 Yet, voters were far more preoccupied with other issues than they were with the environment, including the dire state of the economy, the rising cost and availability of health care, challenges facing public education, and national security.
