Till recently, the president's party always lost seats in Congress
in the midterm election, and especially the midterm of the
president's second term of office. Yet that didn't happen in 1998 or
2002.  What are the chances that the Republicans will hold their
majority in the House and the Senate in 2006?  And what will be the
likely results in public policy if they do?  How will the increasing
polarization of the two major parties affect their candidates'
prospects in 2006?  And what does the 2006 congressional election
tell us, if anything, about 2008, when President Bush will step down
and both parties will have active contests for their presidential
nomination?  We'll examine these questions in this intensive writing
course.  Two books will be assigned -- one on congressional
elections and one on party polarization -- and I'll ask you to write
four papers involving your own research on these questions.