Policy Partnership Presidential Elections and American Democracy

There is an implicit deal between the president and voters: election to office in return for responsiveness to voter concerns. As The Policy Partnership shows, this relationship has been crumbling for some time. Presidents frequently break campaign promises and make unpopular decisions, while the public rarely bands together to demand attention to policy concerns. Many people simply do not vote; political elites take advantage of this indifference to advance their own agendas. The central question of democratic politics comes down to the relationship between popular electoral choices and public policy. If voters can't influence what government does, then what is the point of democracy?Buchanan, Bruce is the author of 'Policy Partnership Presidential Elections and American Democracy', published 2004 under ISBN 9780415947602 and ISBN 041594760X.