A pioneering case study of a major political party under extreme strain,
Getting the Donkey Out of the Ditch
traces in detail what the Democratic Party actually did in the two years immediately following its resounding defeat in the 1980 elections. Caroline Arden argues that in November 1980 the Democratic Party was under the most severe stress it had experienced in this century, brought on not only by the loss of an election but also by the perceived threat of a major party realignment and to the Democrat's long-term status as a majority party. She shows that even though it still had sufficient power, the Democratic Party did not perform a fundamental or effective restoration to a unifying center after the disastrous election, which led in part to the disarray that has characterized the Party during the 1988 primaries.