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Farnsworth Coauthors Book on Political Humor

Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is coauthor of a new book, Late-Night in Washington: Political Humor and the American Presidency, recently published by Routledge. This project is Professor Farnsworth’s ninth published book on U.S. politics.

From the publisher: “This book traces the trajectory of late-night political humor, which has long been a staple of entertainment television and is now a prominent part of social media political discourse, especially when it comes to the presidency. From Richard Nixon on Laugh-In to Donald Trump’s avatar on Saturday Night Live, this book takes the next step and considers how late-night comedy treats Joe Biden, the new American president who strives to restore a civil public tone but offers far less comedy fodder than his predecessor. Employing content analysis, public opinion surveys, and a variety of other quantitative and qualitative research, the authors look beyond the day-to-day memes and mimes of late-night comics and show how political humor may evolve. For students and scholars of politics and the media, this book will appeal to the general public and political pundits as well.”

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Virginia Democrats Focus on Affordability With New Governor, Control of General Assembly (Community Sentinel)

Stephen Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, said Democrats still face an uphill battle to impact Virginians’ wallets because macro-economic conditions come out of the federal government. “Affordability is really tough to manage at the state level,” he said. “There’s a limit to how much the state government can do to impact the price of groceries”.

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Virginia lawmakers navigate political issues as US attacks Iran (Newsbreak)

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said public opinion in the U.S. “tends to be pretty isolationist,” and Trump himself campaigned as a critic of “endless wars.”

While presidents sometimes see a short-term spike in approval ratings after the start of military action, “that doesn’t tend to last very long,” Farnsworth said. With the election months away, he said, “there is no way to predict what the world is going to look like in October.”

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As conflict with Iran widens, Virginia lawmakers navigate political fallout (Virginia Mercury)

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said history suggests foreign conflicts can quickly become domestic liabilities.

“The history of an American military engagement in the region has been a pattern of voter backlash when things turn out not to be as simple as presidents say they are,” Farnsworth said. 

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