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jscott991
jscott991
Join Date 06/2003
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Incumbency Advantage

August 14, 2004 11:00:58 PM from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
Does anyone else think there should be a an incumbency advantage that you could toggle on and off for one candidate during the game setup? Incumbents usually have a fairly strong advantage, even at the presidential level (though, admittedly, that advantage usually is that the top-tier challenger candidates usually don't challenge an incumbent president, ala Cuomo and Bush Sr.) and the game should probably model that.

If I had to make a recomendation, I'd say it should be a nationwide awareness bonus, given that almost all Americans know the sitting president's stances on most major issues and who he is.
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jscott991
toadcanada
Join Date 08/2004
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Reply #1 August 15, 2004 2:00:44 AM
from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
Think about how many presidents have been elected to two terms and think of the incimbent advantage. A little less than 50% re-election is not an advantage.
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jscott991
jscott991
Join Date 06/2003
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Reply #2 August 15, 2004 10:39:13 AM
from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
How weird that you should say this. How many Presidents have been defeated seeking a second term v. how many have won. Let's take a look.

Defeated:
1. John Adams, John Q. Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, B. Harrison, William Taft, Warren Harding, Ford, Carter, George Bush Sr.

Won A Second Term:
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, McKinley, Rooselvelt, Wilson, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton

That's 18 to 10 in favor of a second term. In the modern era, Eisenhower, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton all won a second term while Carter, Bush Sr., and Ford (not a good example) failed to win a second term. That's 5 to 3.

I don't think you'd find a political science class, political commentator, or even talking head who didn't think incumbency was an advantage.
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jscott991
jscott991
Join Date 06/2003
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Reply #3 August 15, 2004 10:39:51 AM
from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
Harding should be Hoover in the above example. I always get those two confused.
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jscott991
ggibas
Join Date 08/2004
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Reply #4 August 15, 2004 12:34:00 PM
from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
If anything it should be kept simple. Incumbents should get automatic name recognition in every state, at like 95% or so. Just about everyone knows the President, so that would be the only advantage an incumbent should have without upsetting the balance of the game too much.
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jscott991
jscott991
Join Date 06/2003
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Reply #5 August 15, 2004 1:29:06 PM
from PoliticalMachine ForumsPoliticalMachine Forums
95 is too high since awareness is both name recognition and willingness to go out and vote (kind of like excitement about the candidate).

I think a 5-10 bonus would be enough.
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