Marc Hetherington

Political pundits have time to reflect in the days ahead on the reasons behind Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American president, but the president-elect must focus immediately on his transition and the challenges ahead, according to several Vanderbilt professors. Read More

A Vanderbilt University political scientist says the largely white, affluent suburbs around Philadelphia could boost Barack Obama\'s chances of a surprise win in the April 22 Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Read More

George W. Bush‘s best efforts to rally public support for Social Security privatization have met with failure. Although more people now perceive a problem, few perceive a crisis. Worse for the president, two months of salesmanship have actually lowered his approval rating on the issue. People do not seem to want private accounts if it means fundamental changes to a program that has a strong track record of success. Read More

A bipartisan program called Congress to Campus will bring former national lawmakers James Broyhill and Butler Derrick to Vanderbilt March 17-18 to meet with students and faculty. Read More

A decline in the level of America's trust in government began nearly 40 years ago, and a continuation of that trend in 2004 would benefit President George W. Bush, according to Vanderbilt political scientist Marc Hetherington. He is the author of Why Trust Matters: Declining Political Trust and the Demise of American Liberalism. Read More