Almanac of American Politics 2004 by Michael Barone, Richard E. Cohen

Synopsis

“September 11 changed everything.” How often have we heard or thought that since that awful morning? Yet for 14 months, September 11 seemed to have changed very little in American politics. The nation’s electorate still seemed split evenly between the parties, divided along cultural lines. But as the results of the 2002 elections came in, it was clear that something-some things-had changed, as Republicans made down-the-line gains from the statehouses to Capitol Hill.

What changed? The essential American concepts of life, liberty and property have all been changed by September 11 and by other recent developments, in ways that have reshaped our political alignment.

In his introduction to The Almanac of American Politics 2004, Michael Barone describes how and why the nation came to elect Republican majorities in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate in 2002-and what it will mean for politics and governance. This completely new, redesigned edition of “the bible of American politics” provides updated profiles of all 50 states and 435 House districts, as well as a guide to how redistricting will alter American politics over the course of the next decade. Other features include:

·         Insightful, colorful profiles and photographs of all 535 members of Congress and the 50 governors.

·         Voting records on important legislation, including congressional vote ratings by National Journal and a dozen influential interest groups.

·         Informative descriptions of each state and congressional district with historical, economic, social and political background information.

·         Updated Census data, and richly detailed congressional district maps.

·         2002 election results for each member of Congress, 2004 election analysis, plus presidential results by state and by congressional district.

Biography

Michael Barone, senior writer at U.S. News & World Report, is a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group and is a Fox News Channel contributor.
Richard E. Cohen has 26 years of experience covering Captiol Hill as National Journal's congressional correspondent. He is the 1990 winner of the prestigious Everett McKinely Dirksen Award for distringuished reporting on Congress and the author of several books about Congress, including a 1999 biography of former Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski.