This balanced readable analysis of how the two major branches of government work together to make public policy includes 16 case studies and reflects on changes since the 9/11 attacks.

The authors of this text, one a presidential scholar and the other a congressional scholar, view the two branches as coequals in policymaking. They take a “shared governance” approach and provide a policy focus, looking not only at the policy process but also evaluating policy results in the areas of foreign policy, civil rights, economic and budget policy, and social welfare. It is organized around an original framework that identifies four patterns of policymaking: presidential leadership, congressional leadership, consensus/cooperation, and deadlock/extraordinary resolution. A separate case study illustrates each of the four patterns in each of the four policy areas, serving as an integral part of the text to enhance the student's understanding. The four patterns of policymaking and the case studies comprise an effective tool for helping students understand the increasingly complex relations between Congress and the President. Two new case studies look at the Bush tax cut and the Anti-terrorist (Patriot) Act.