This Alternate Edition is the comprehensive version of Fiorina and Peterson's text without the policy chapters. Focusing on electoral forces, it offers a stimulating, analytical approach that gives students a unique understanding of their political system as it exists today. The accessibility of instant public opinion polls, the Internet, the ubiquitous nature of the news media, and the increasingly important role of interest groupsall of which Fiorina and Peterson use to demonstrate that America is moving toward a more popular democracyhave blurred the lines between campaigning and governing. Politicians today are constantly engaged in the campaign processa permanent campaign that has affected how our government functions in profound ways. The Alternate Third Edition of this highly respected text has been brought completely up-to-date through September 11th, the war on terrorism, and the 2002 midterm elections, and continues to be the only text available that addresses the fundamental shift in the way American government functions.