This will be associate politics Prof. Paul Freedman's fifth election here at the University -- for the layman that translates to nine years.
"I count in elections," Freedman said.
As a person who said one of his passions is the political process, Freedman's counting style makes sense.
Freedman teaches the American politics class "Mass Media and American Politics."
"My real area of interest has to do with the political community," Freedman said. "I'm interested in how people talk and learn about politics. I'm interested in what shapes public opinion, what influences how people act in politics -- so you have to be interested in the media."
Freedman said most people don't live in Washington, D.C. and have never been to Baghdad or met all of the political figures seen in the press and on television every day, so they must turn to less direct sources of information.
"To be able to formulate opinions and function as democratic citizens, we rely on mass media," Freedman said. "The media plays an essential role in a democracy, [so it's important to] pay attention to what the media looks like."
Freedman said he grew up in New York in a very political family. His father was involved in city government and was once selected to be a night mayor of the city when Freedman was very young.
"I thought [he was chosen to be] a nightmare," Freedman said. "Everyone was so excited, but it took me a while to figure out my father was not going to be a bad dream but the mayor of New York for a night."
Freedman attended Brown University for his undergraduate degree in political science. Upon graduating, he worked for state government in a place called the Budget Bureaucrat.
"The most important thing I learned was that I didn't want to work in the Budget Bureaucrat for the rest of my life," Freedman said. "I missed academia. I missed learning."
Freedman then attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, where he said he intended to study budgets. Once he arrived, however, he discovered his interest in public opinion and the political process.
When Freedman graduated from the University of Michigan, something "phenomenal" happened -- Freedman was offered a job in the politics department at the University.
"I hit the jackpot," Freedman said.
Freedman said he enjoys so many aspects of being a professor at such a prestigious university, something he defines as his biggest accomplishment.
"The students are really first rate," Freedman said. "They're inquisitive, intellectually curious and frequently are driven to go beyond the minimal expectations."
Some of his other achievements include winning the Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award and the Boots Mead Award.
In addition to teaching, Freedman has worked the "Decision Desk" for each election since 2000 for ABC News in New York.
"We're looking over data coming in, both exit poll and raw vote data, and providing guidance as to when news people can say this senator, this governor, this presidential candidate" is likely to win, Freedman said. "It's more making a projection you're very confident in."
Freedman said the intensity of election review depends on the closeness of the race.
For the "disaster of the 2000 presidential election," Freedman said he and his team were "sitting in a windowless room ... for almost 24 hours straight with one pizza break. They usually don't let us leave, [but sometimes] a camera crew will come visit us in our natural habitat."
Freedman said teaching remains one of his passions.
"It's a pleasure to teach people who want to learn," Freedman said. "It's a pleasure to teach people with respect for intellectual pursuits."
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