My major areas of scholarly interest are social policy, voting rights policy, political parties, and the American presidency. I have published a book on the development of federal education policy - An Education in Politics: The Origin and Development of No Child Left Behind - with Cornell University Press, and am currently writing a book on the development of the Voting Rights Act since 1965. I have also published research on the politics of presidential rhetoric, the evolving relationship between the president and the parties, and the effects of state education reforms on parental attitudes and behavior.