How Washington Actually Works For Dummies (PDF)

Get the inside scoop on the most powerful city on Earth

Washington, D.C.: Capital of the Free World; the most powerful
city on Earth. No other country, company, or international
organization can compare with the reach and wealth of the federal
government. Policymaking -- the art of deciding what programs
to support, what laws to pass, or what regulations to write --
is at the core of what Washington does and is what everyone, from
the President on down, wants to influence.

How Washington Actually Works For Dummies isn't a dry
explanation of the American system of government but a playbook for
how Washington really works: who has a seat at the table, how the
policymaking process works, and how one survives. It takes you
inside the political process in Washington, discusses changes in
recent decades, and explains how the parts fit together. You find
out:

* Who really runs Washington

* Why the President's power is limited

* How Congress (and its committee structure) works

* What the bureaucrats -- the men and women behind the
curtain -- do to earn your tax dollars

* How lobbyists, activists, and other players influence
policy

In a presidential election year when economic issues are center
stage and the candidates will go head to head in policy debates,
there's no better time to discover the ins and outs of how
policy is actually made.