Faculty Spotlight: How an expert views the 2016 election

How does a professor facilitate a debate in his political science class when the two major candidates for president of the United States themselves can’t show restraint?

Easy. By insisting that the discussions remain civil.

“My students have been much more civil than the debates have been,” said associate professor of political science Joe Wert with a laugh. “I think they respect each other’s political differences.”

The 2016 presidential election has been an interesting — albeit often frustrating — case study for Wert and his political science colleagues.

Unlike presidential elections of the past, Wert has noticed more of an emphasis on personalities and name calling and less emphasis on the issues the country faces domestically and internationally.

In the classroom, the election has offered an opportunity for Wert’s students to foster open conversations and listen to different opinions from various walks of life. Those discussions also encourage students to better articulate their own points of view.

“Students gel their own thinking when they can speak about it out loud, particularly when there might be others with views very different than themselves,” he said.

Outside of the classroom, Wert is less impressed.

“I personally think this is the sorriest group of candidates that we’ve had in the past 100 years,” he said. “I’ve never been this way, but I still have no idea who I’m going to vote for.”

While the debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may have opened the door to lively discussion amongst his student, Wert didn’t find much else in the way of value.

“I was looking for a clear picture of where the candidates stand on various issues, particularly the economy, the War on Terror, taxes, the environment,” Wert said. “Why should I vote for either one of you? That question wasn’t answered.”

The candidates have failed to move him, but Wert’s passion for American politics remains unshaken. It is evident the moment you walk in his office.

His bookcases are stuffed with publications on political theory and biographies on important political leaders throughout history. A shelf near the door displays 44 distinct Pez dispensers, each featuring the head of a U.S. president.

That passion has been sparked for as long as Wert can remember. 

“I distinctly remember being in third grade and taking an interest in the 1968 election and Robert Kennedy’s assassination,” he said. “I would read political philosophy when I was in high school. When I was younger, on the back of kids cereal boxes they had president cards that were like baseball cards. They listed all the of presidents and their stats. I collected those.”

Wert earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ball State University and later received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. His research focuses on public opinion and the presidency and the institution of the presidency. 

He recalls having a constitutional law professor at Ball State who was “a fascinating individual and made everything he said the most interesting thing in the world to me.” If the professor would suggest a book, Wert would order the book that day and consume the material the moment it arrived.

“I try to pass on to my students that same love for the material and passing the material on to other people,” Wert said.

Wert stepped down as dean of Social Sciences after the 2015-16 school year and now serves as the Faculty Senate president and also as co-chair of the Indiana University Faculty Council, where he aims to give voice to the concerns of IU’s regional campuses.

Beyond the 2016 election, Wert’s short-term outlook for the American political landscape isn’t exactly optimistic. 

“No matter who wins the presidency, no matter who wins the Senate, I’m not particularly optimistic about what’s going to happen over the next four years,” he said. “Beyond that, I am optimistic. I hope that both parties — in particular, the Republican Party — will get their act together and put forward a responsible candidate.”

While he won’t forecast a winner in November, Wert does predict that Trump will garner more votes than he is currently polling, citing “a hidden amount of Trump support” that doesn’t publicly claim the candidate. Wert also believes the legacy of the next president will largely be defined by assuring the direction of the Supreme Court.

Above all, he advocates for the voting populace to avoid sitting this election out. As he sees it, there is far more than a presidential bid at stake.

“I hear a lot of people bemoaning the choices and deciding who they are going to vote for or if they are going to vote at all,” he said.

“I hope that they will go out and vote. There are lots of alternatives to not voting. You can vote for the candidate that you find the least objectionable. Vote for a third party. Vote in down-ballot races. That is every bit as important as the presidential vote. In every state, you’re going to have the entire House, the third of Senate, the governorships, state houses, local elections. I hope when people say they’re going to sit the presidential elections out, they consider the other races.”

Joe Wert’s Required Reading

• “Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan” by Richard Neustadt. A widely studied book on the theory and practice of presidential leadership.

• “The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House” by James David Barber. A provocative examination of who has the potential to be voted into the highest office in the land — and why.

• “Anti-Politics in America” by John Bunzel. Reflections on the anti-political temper and its distortions of the democratic process.

• “The Prince” by Machiavelli. The classic guide to acquiring and maintaining political power.

• “A History of the Supreme Court” by Bernard Schwartz. The story of the justices and their jurisprudence and the influence the Court has had on American politics and society.

Campus cop dishes up tasty lessons