political participation

What changed, if anything, in the American political culture between 2004 and 2012? This was a period that saw the reelection of two very different presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Be sure not just to describe the issues that were important in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 elections, but analyze whether or not there were differences in the way that the candidates campaigned and in the American electorate._x000D_
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Feel free to utilize external resources analyzing the 2008 election, such as:_x000D_
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http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/_x000D_
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/elections/presidential/presidential_election_2008.html_x000D_
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While the 2012 election happened only recently, there are some web sources which you might want to consult:_x000D_
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/president/_x000D_
http://elections.nbcnews.com/ns/politics/2012/all/president/_x000D_
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http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/president