This work revives the Aristophanic notion of democracy as comedy. The author shows the reader why and how different aspects of American democracy - public opinion, interest groups, the presidency and so on - can be viewed as comic.

The notion of society and politics as drama has drawn much attention in recent years. Yet despite the heritage begun by Aristophanes, few students of politics and the social order have taken comedy and comic inquiry seriously. This book revives the Aristophanic notion of democracy as comedy. Herein the reader will find why and how different aspects of American democracy - public opinion, interest groups, the presidency and so on - are comic. It is the author's contention that the comic perspective offers insight and understanding on the actual operation of democracy. And they invite all those who wish to understand why American democracy is so comic to join them in their inquiry.

Introduction: Wit's End: Taking Political Comedy Seriously
The Political Comedies of Citizenship
The Citizen's Role in Democracy: A Romantic Comedy
Candidates, Campaigns, and Voters: Comedies of Farce and Humour
Voices of Public Opinion: Comedies of Wit
Politics and the News Media: A Comedy of Manners
The Comedies of Policymakers
Hell to the Chief: Comedies of Character
Legislators Deliberate: Political Comedies of the Situation
Political Bureaucracies: Comedies of Error and Intrigue
The Mystique of Courts and Judges: Comedies of Ideas and Imagination
Exit Laughing
Epilogue.