The Politics of Bad Ideas

Bryan D. Jones is Donald R. Matthews Distinguished Professor of American Politics and Director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy at the University of Washington, Seattle. His scholarly interests focus on American public policy processes. Jones' numerous books include Politics and the Architecture of Choice (Chicago, 2001), Preconceiving Decision-Making in Democratic Politics (Chicago, 1994), both winners of the APSA Political Psychology Section Robert Lane Award, and Agendas and Instability in American Politics (co-authored with Frank Baumgartner; Chicago, 1993), winner of the 2001 Aaron Wildavsky Award for Enduring Contribution to the Study of Public Policy.

Walter Williams is Distinguished Fellow, Center for American Politics and Public Policy, and Professor Emeritus, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. He is a frequent contributor to the editorial pages of newspapers throughout the country. His numerous books include Reaganism and the Death of Representative Democracy (Georgetown University Press, 2003), Honest Numbers and Democracy (Georgetown University Press, 1998), and Mismanaging America (University Press of Kansas, 1990).