Introduction. Getting past no : building coalitions and making policy from Clinton to Bush to Obama / Martin A. Levin, Daniel DiSalvo, and David Emer -- The electoral connection and the dissonant game of coalition building in an era of partisan policymaking / Martin A. Levin and Daniel DiSalvo -- Why LBJ is smiling : the Bush administration, "compassionate conservatism," and No Child Left Behind / Frederick M. Hess -- Splitting the coalition : the political perils and opportunities of immigration reform / Daniel J. Tichenor -- Embracing the third rail? Social security politics from Clinton to Obama / R. Kent Weaver -- The Bush administration and politics of medicare reform / Jonathan Oberlander -- A solution for all seasons : the politics of tax reduction in the Bush administration / Tim Conlan and Paul Posner -- The Bush administration and the uses of judicial politics / Thomas F. Burke and Nancy Scherer -- A feint to the center, a move backward : Bush's Clear Skies Initiative and the politics of policymaking / David Emer -- National security, the electoral connection, and policy choice / James M. Lindsay -- The dynamics of presidential policy choice and promotion / Daniel J. Galvin -- Touching the bases : parties and policymaking in the twenty-first century / Daniel DiSalvo -- Bush's 'our crowd' / Martin M. Shapiro -- Politics, elections and policymaking / David Mayhew.