The American Flag and the Presidential Election of 1988: Reconsidering the Importance of Valence Issues

Abstract

In the 1988 Presidential election George W. Bush used the issue of the American flag as a way to demonstrate his own patriotism while undermining Dukakis'. This strategy relied on valence issues, which are issues that are generally considered to be desirable by most voters. Some authors contend that these valence issues are important because they give a candidate an additional advantage that is separate from his/her other issue stances. In this thesis, I contend that valence issues are not considered in isolation, but are instead integral to how voters determine a candidate's ability to handle current and future crises. Using the 1988 National Election Study (NES) a series of regression equations where estimated which found support for this interpretation, adding to our understanding of the importance valence issues and the American flag. Additional studies are needed in order to elucidate these results, but this thesis serves as a guide for future research.