The new edition of this highly affordable Penguin Academic Series book provides a lively, engaging introduction to American government thatnow been updated to include complete coverage of the 2006 midterm elections, the campaigns and results, and the most relevant and important issues and events that have dominated the headlines and national dialogue throughout 2005 and 2006: the war in Iraq; the politics, policies, and fortunes of the second George W. Bush administration; the debate over illegal immigration; the new faces in and decisions from the Supreme Court; scandals and corruption with the executive and legislative branch, and more. Written in a strong narrative voice and brimming with student-relevant examples, Americars"s New Democracyprovides a focused and stimulating treatment of politics in the United States. Illustrating popular influence across the political system in defense of a central theme-that elections matter more in Americars"s political system today than they have in the past or do in other democracies-the book challenges the pessimistic view that government seldom listens to ordinary people.Americars"s New Democracyencourages readers to see that in a system where votes are the main currency, both power and responsibility rest on the shoulders ofallcitizens.