Highlights political science research findings, viewed through rational choice, social-psychological, and bio-politics theories, introducing beginning level students to sophisticated scholarship in an accessible, understandable way. Authors are highly regarded, active scholars, attractive to adopting professors. Features policy discussions throughout the book in every chapter, not just at the end of the book, thus countering the tendency of American government courses and teachers to omit policy coverage due to time constraints. New to the Fifth Edition • New and updated statistical data reflecting the 2020 census and the 2022 midterm elections, and discussions of the implications of the data and the results. • Offers a retrospective analysis of the entire Trump presidency and the first years of the Biden presidency. • Examines contemporary questions of social justice and anticipates upcoming challenges to voting rights, affirmative action policies, health care and reproductive rights, and protections for ethnic minorities and the LGBT community. . • Previews the policy implications of an increasingly partisan Supreme Court, recaps the controversial recent decisions on health care, abortion, and environmental policy, and covers the historic confirmation of new justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson.

Highlights political science research findings, viewed through rational choice, social-psychological, and bio-politics theories, introducing beginning level students to sophisticated scholarship in an accessible, understandable way. Authors are highly regarded, active scholars, attractive to adopting professors. Features policy discussions throughout the book in every chapter, not just at the end of the book, thus countering the tendency of American government courses and teachers to omit policy coverage due to time constraints. New to the Fifth Edition • New and updated statistical data reflecting the 2020 census and the 2022 midterm elections, and discussions of the implications of the data and the results. • Offers a retrospective analysis of the entire Trump presidency and the first years of the Biden presidency. • Examines contemporary questions of social justice and anticipates upcoming challenges to voting rights, affirmative action policies, health care and reproductive rights, and protections for ethnic minorities and the LGBT community. . • Previews the policy implications of an increasingly partisan Supreme Court, recaps the controversial recent decisions on health care, abortion, and environmental policy, and covers the historic confirmation of new justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson.

Though many analyses of the 2012 presidential election have emerged, none can match this collection's depth, diversity, or ability to critically and soundly argue where American politics will go from this point forward. This volume includes some of the most recognized scholars in the field and innovative younger scholars who provide a fresh perspective on the election. It is a diverse and award winning group, including established and respected names in presidency studies, political psychology, and election forecasting. The contributions address a wide range of subjects, from the accuracy of pre-election forecasts, the effect of the election on relations between Obama and congressional leaders, the effect of race and religion on the outcome, the consequences for the Republican Party, and prospects for leadership in a second term. Rather than a simplistic account of what happened during the campaign, the volume will contribute to our understanding of significant questions about the presidency, voting behavior, political parties, and elections.

In recent years, the executive branch's ability to maneuver legislation through Congress has become the measure of presidential success or failure. Although the victor of legislative battles is often readily discernible, debate is growing over how such victories are achieved.
In "The President in the Legislative Arena," Jon R. Bond and Richard Fleisher depart dramatically from the concern with presidential influence that has dominated research on presidential-congressional relations for the past thirty years. Of the many possible factors involved in presidential success, those beyond presidential control have long been deemed unworthy of study. Bond and Fleisher disagree. Turning to democratic theory, they insist that it is vitally important to understand the conditions under which the executive brance prevails, regardless of the source of that success. Accordingly, they provide a thorough and unprecedented analysis of presidential success on congressional roll-call votes from 1953 through 1984. Their research demonstrates that the degree of cooperation between the two branches is much more systematically linked to the partisan and ideological makeup of Congress than to the president's bargaining ability and popularity. Thus the composition of Congress "inherited" by the president is the single most significant determinant of the success or failure of the executive branch.