The Constitution today : timeless lessons for the issues of our era / Akhil Reed Amar

Updated with a post-election postscript

Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction : The Constitution on deadline -- Part I. Modern branches : The presidency: a return to dynasty? -- The vice presidency: nothing, but maybe everything -- The congress: how to fix a broken branch -- The judiciary: who judges the judges? -- Part II. Culture wars : Criminal procedure: from O.J. to DNA. -- Citizens dis-united: race, guns, gays, and more -- Constitutional anniversaries: remembering to remember -- Part III. Presidential dramas : Bill Clinton's drama: his partisan impeachment -- George W. Bush's drama: his un-popular election -- Barack Obama's drama: his signature statute -- Conclusion : Just, in time

When the stories that lead our daily news involve momentous constitutional questions, present-minded journalists and busy citizens cannot always see the stakes clearly. In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America's preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades--from gun control to gay marriage, affirmative action to criminal procedure, presidential dynasties to congressional dysfunction, Bill Clinton's impeachment to Obamacare. He shows how the Constitution's text, history, and structure are a crucial repository of collective wisdom, providing specific rules and grand themes relevant to every organ of the American body politic