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This update includes coverage of the seismic changes that have taken place across our political landscape since the second edition published and Barack Obama took office. In addition, this update features many new photos and updated tables and figures reflecting the most recent data available.
- Chapter 3 (Federalism): Includes updated data on federal grants-in-aid and local and special governments.
- Chapter 4 (The Judiciary): Features coverage of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination and confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as new data on the number of court petitions and cases heard during the most recent Supreme Court term.
- Chapter 5 (Civil Liberties): Provides new information on cases related to the fourth and sixth amendments.
- Chapter 6 (Civil Rights): Provides updated data on educational attainment and income by race as well as workers’ earnings by occupation.
- Chapter 7 (Congress): Features a new opening vignette addressing the rowdy town hall meetings on health care reform during the summer of 2009; discusses the impact of Senator Arlen Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party; examines the issue of civility and Representative Joe Wilson’s outburst during the president’s address to Congress in September of 2009; includes updates on the wealthiest Congressional members based on 2009 survey results; and provides updated data on the standing committees and the occupations, education, party profile, and gender composition of the 111th Congress.
- Chapter 8 (The Presidency): Includes a new opening vignette on the difference between campaigning and governing, using Obama’s campaign and early months of governance as an example; provides updated information on President Obama’s Cabinet and the 2009 Executive Office of the President, as well as updated information on presidential vetoes; examines Vice President Joe Biden’s likely role and impact; and includes coverage and analysis of C-Span’s 2009 ranking of American Presidents.
- Chapter 9 (Bureaucracy): Updates data on the number of federal employees and departments in the executive branch of the federal government.
- Chapter 10 (Political Socialization and Public Opinion): Provides new information comparing public opinion about health care in America with that of public opinion in Europe; includes updated data on public opinion related to abortion; and highlights updated data on women in the federal government, family life and poverty, and earnings by education level.
- Chapter 11 (Politics of the Media): Examines allegations about the death of newspapers; provides updated data on internet access; includes new research on misperceptions about the War in Iraq correlated to people’s primary sources of news; and includes improved coverage of pseudo events, including former President George W. Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” landing on an aircraft carrier.
- Chapter 13 (Interest Groups): Updates data on types of interest groups and spending on inside lobbying.
- Chapter 14 (Elections and Participation in America): Features a new opening vignette on close elections, highlighting the impact of Minnesota’s close Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken; and includes updated data on the incumbent fundraising advantage in the 2008 election.
