- Rejects conventional wisdom that the dominant force shaping recent American politics in the last half century has been the "rise of the Right"
- Considers the achievements and frustrations of each administration, from Nixon to Obama, in its assessment of contemporary U.S. politics
- Features authorship by an expert scholar in the field who takes a thematic rather than a partisan approach to recent American politics
- Offers a concise, comprehensive, and thoroughly up-to-date synthesis of the literature in the field and concludes with a comprehensive bibliographical essay, an aid to student research