AND The Logic of American Politics in Wartime: Lessons from the Bush Administration

A core American politics textbook, complete with a range of free teaching ancillaries The American political system is extraordinary and complex. Samuel Kernell and Gary Jacobson help students develop a sophisticated appreciation of the possibilities and limits of American politics. Encouraged to think and not merely to memorise facts, students will come to understand why political institutions, the politicians who occupy them, and the citizens who monitor and respond to their actions, behave as they do. A nation as large and diverse as the United States faces enormous challenges. Kernell and Jacobson analyse political institutions and practices as (imperfect) solutions to problems facing people who need to act collectively, highlighting throughout the text such obstacles as conflicts over values and interests, the difficulty of agreeing on a course of action, and the problem of free riding. They describe how the choices made to resolve such problems at one moment affect politics in the future, long after the problems have faded. The intelligible logic of American politics is analysed further in three sets of thematic boxes that appear throughout the text: "The Logic of Politics" boxes dissect the design of various political institutions in light of the objectives they were intended to achieve "Strategy and Choice" boxes, new to the second edition, show how officeholders and those seeking to influence them employ institutions to advance their goals. "Politics to Policy" boxes show how public policies reflect the institutions that produce them and evaluate institutional capacity to solve America's problems. Public policy is treated as an integral subject and is examined throughout the book, rather than in separate chapters that are often left unassigned. "Politics into Policy" boxes, in particular, extend the authors' analysis, looking at such issues as: the tightening of the borders in the wake of terrorists attacks, how smoking evolved from a private to a public issue, and the decades-long battle over campaign finance reform. Special features include:* Chapters open with lively and topical stories that draw students in* Thematic questions at the beginning of each chapter serve both to preview important themes and to get students thinking critically. * An abundance of carefully produced or selected tables, figures, photographs, and other visuals, thoroughly updated for the second edition, illustrate and expand on the text. Captions enrich or exemplify points of discussion. New exercises on the accompanying website help students learn to interpret the graphic presentation of data. * Key terms are defined in boldface on first use, summarized at chapter end (with page numbers), and defined in a glossary at the back of the book. * Chapter objectives, summaries, and electronically-graded quizzes to help students review and study the material are offered on the web at logic.cqpress.com. Annotated suggested readings lists and endnotes assist students in their exploration of American politics beyond the pages of the book. Additionally, the Logic website provides CQ Weekly articles that illustrate the logic in contemporary American politics, as well as links to the best relevant sites on the Internet. Adopters will receive a free subscription to CQ's Politics Daily e-newsletter. Unlike general news sources that focus on national polls and punditry, CQ Politics Daily analyses the