By emphasizing how history, political culture, rules, and institutions influence choices that lie at the heart of governing, this book presses the reader to think about how these forces conspire to shape politics today and how they will determine the state of affairs tomorrow. The thoroughly revised fourth edition includes coverage of the political problems raised by the state's persistent drought, the widening of health care access to low-income children and adults, the increase in the state's minimum wage, controversy over legislation for mandatory vaccination of schoolchildren, and the state's precariously balanced budget.