Caplan is author of “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies” and an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute. Caplan's articles have appeared in the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, the Journal of Law and Economics, Social Science Quarterly and numerous other outlets.

Farnsworth is the author of "Spinner in Chief: How Presidents Sell Their Policies and Themselves" (Paradigm Press). He is also author or coauthor of three other books, "The Nightly News Nightmare: Television's Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2004" (Rowman & Littlefield [second edition]), "The Mediated Presidency: Television News and Presidential Governance" (Rowman & Littlefield) and "Political Support in a Frustrated America" (Praeger), as well as dozens of articles on the mass media, the presidency, and U.S. and Virginia politics.

Farnsworth was a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar at McGill University in Montreal during 2006-7.  Farnsworth worked for 10 years as a daily newspaper journalist before becoming an academic, mostly with the Kansas City Star & Times. He has lectured on the news media and elections and led reporter training seminars in India, the Philippines, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Armenia and Estonia on programs funded by the U.S. government.

He received his Ph.D. (1997) and M.A. (1993) in government from Georgetown University, after having received a B.A. (1990) in history from the University of Missouri and a B.A. (1983) in government from Dartmouth College. Before moving to Mason in 2008, Dr. Farnsworth taught for a dozen years at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., where he won three campus-wide teaching awards.

Gould served as counselor to the campaign manager of the Clinton/Gore 1996 presidential campaign, and on the legal staff of the 1988 Dukakis/Bentsen presidential campaign. He can provide details on political marketing and campaign strategy.

Heclo is the author of “Is America a Christian Nation” and “Christianity and American Democracy.” He has received national awards for his books including “Comparative Public Policy” and “A Government of Strangers” He specializes in social welfare and can provide specific assessments of past and present presidential terms, specifically those of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Mayer published a groundbreaking study, “Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns 1960-2000,” as well as articles and chapters on presidents and elections. Mayer has extensive media experience, appearing on national and international programs including “World News Tonight,” “The Newshour,” “Headline News” and CNBC. He has also given multiple lectures on behalf of the U.S. government on American politics in countries around the globe including Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal.