Richard J. Gelm is Professor of Political Ccience and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at the University of La Verne in Southern California. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of California, Davis and his B.A. in political science from the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of Politics and Religious Authority: American Catholics Since the Second Vatican Council and has teaching and research interests in American Government, Political Behavior, Voting and Elections, Congress and the American Presidency. In his leisure time he pursues his passion for baseball and travel. He has travelled across all fifty American states and Europe.
American politics is a paradox of cynicism and adulation. This book explains the system’s complex inner workings through the “four Ps”: Philosophy, Pragmatism, Personality, and Profit—the constant clash between high ideals and self-interest.
