So, You Think You Understand Politics

George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Oxford and has held appointments at Oxford, Sciences Po Paris, the US Military Academy, Peking University, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of London. A leading scholar of the presidency, he has written or edited twenty-seven books on American politics. He was also the editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly for 24 years and general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. Professor Edwards has served as president of the Presidency Research Section of the American Political Science Association, which has named its annual dissertation prize in his honor and awarded him its Career Service Award. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he has received the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service from the US Army and the Pi Sigma Alpha Prize from the Southern Political Science Association. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor Edwards applies his scholarship to practical issues of governing, including advising other countries on their constitutions, presidencies, building democratic national party systems, elections, and democracy generally. He has also authored numerous studies for US presidential transitions.

• Chapter 1: Why It Is Important to Understand Politics?Chapter 2: How Democratic Is the Constitution?Chapter 3: How Free is Free Speech?Chapter 4: Does the Electoral College Protect Key Interests?Chapter 5: Who Pays Federal Taxes—and Who Is Subsidized?Chapter 6: On What—and Whom—Does the Federal Government Spend Money?Chapter 7: Can We Balance the Budget?Chapter 8: Are the Poor Undeserving? Chapter 9: Can the President Lead the Public?Chapter 10: Can the President Persuade Congress?Chapter 11: Once You Understand, What Do You Do?