The new edition of this brief, highly affordable Penguin Academic Series book includes new discussions about midterm elections, the economy, and the 2003 Iraq War. 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 theme--that elections matter more in America'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. 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.