By focusing on Donald Trump's 2016 candidacy, this exploration will help readers understand the consequences of political dysfunction and the challenges of moving toward best-practice reforms. Written for students, business people, opinion leaders, and everyone interested in politics and America's international reputation, this work begins by explaining the factors that facilitate and constrain various types of political candidates. Rather than concentrating on Trump the individual, however, the book concentrates on the environment that made his candidacy possible, offering a fresh take on what populism looks like in the 21st century, how it has changed, and what those changes mean for its viability and policy consequences moving forward. One of the book's key goals is to help readers understand why campaign finance reform, although needed, is insufficient to put the U.S. electoral system back on a firm footing. After describing and differentiating the Trump brand of populism from what came before, the book explains how the evolving educational, cultural, economic, and political context of U.S. society allowed a man with Trump's distinctive characteristics to gain the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. It presents and analyzes lessons to be learned from the Trump experience and suggests ways to improve presidential leadership and secure high-quality presidential candidates in the years ahead. * Examines Donald Trump's candidacy through the lenses of education, culture, politics, and economics * Offers a sober reassessment of the roles education and culture must play in a healthy political enterprise * Exposes how both major political parties are governed by habit, impoverished by faulty moral introspection, empowered by coalition largesse, and manipulated by political gamesmanship * Explores the best ways to deal with the political slurs and pejorative terms that are increasingly used in counterproductive ways to undermine dialogue and polarize the electorate * Helps readers gain an understanding of how a comprehensive reconsideration of individual and corporate merit can increase the fairness and legitimacy of the political system

Author Biography

Timothy J. Barnett, PhD, is a tenured full professor of political science at Jacksonville State University in northeast Alabama.