The election update of this brief, highly affordable (Penguin Academic series) book includes new discussions about the 2004 elections and other recent current events, such as American foreign policy in the Middle East. Written in a strong narrative voice and brimming with student-relevant examples, the second edition of America's New Democracy provides a focused and stimulating treatment of politics in the United States. Illustrating popular influence across the political system in defense of a central themethat elections matter more in America's political system today than they have in the pastthe book challenges the pessimistic view that government seldom listens to ordinary people. America's New Democracy encourages readers to see that in a system where votes are the main currency, both power and responsibility rest on the shoulders of all citizens.