Campaign Ethics

What standards (if any) should campaigns follow? How should campaigns be judged? Clearly a tradeoff exists between 1) winning election and 2) informing the public. The first is a private good where benefits are distributed to the winning candidate, the candidate's staff, and supporters. The second is a public good where benefits are distributed throughout society.

For the rest of the week we will talk about campaign reform, ethics, and norms. Please take a look at the Code of Ethics established by the American Association of Political Consultants, the governing body of professional campaign workers. See you in class on Wednesday and do not forget to bring the final draft of your papers to turn in.