Book excerpt: The Fifth Edition of American Politics Today is designed to show students the reality of politics today and how it connects to their own lives. New features--from chapter opening cases that address the kinds of questions students ask, to full-page graphics that illustrate key political processes--show students how politics works and why it matters. All components of the learning package--textbook, InQuizitive adaptive learning tool, and coursepack--are organized around specific chapter learning goals to ensure that students learn the nuts and bolts of American government.