The first is that a certain amount of political ignorance is an inevitable byproduct of America's unique political environment. One reason Americans have so much difficulty grasping the political facts of life is that their political system is the world's most complex. Ask the next political science Ph.D. you meet to explain what government agencies a what level--federal, state, county, or city -take responsibility for the homeles Or whom he or she voted for in the last election for municipal judge. The answer might make Jay Leno's victims seem less ridiculous. No European country ha as many elections, as many elected offices, as complex a maze of overlapping governmental jurisdictions, as the American system. It is simply harder to "read U.S. politics than the politics of most nations.

The hurdle of political comprehension is raised a notch higher by the ides logical inconsistencies of American political parties. In Britain, a voter can confidently cast a vote without knowing a great deal about the particular candidates on the ballot. The Labor candidate generally can be counted on to follow the Labor line, the Conservative to follow the Tory line. An American voter casting a ballot for a Democrat or Republican has no such assurance. Citizens in other countries need only dog paddle to be in the political swim; in the United State they need the skills of a scuba diver.

If the complexity of U.S. political institutions helps explain American ignorance of domestic politics, geopolitical factors help explain American backward ness in foreign affairs. There is a kind of ecology of political ignorance at work The United States is far from Europe and borders only two other countries With a vast domestic market, most of its producers have relatively few dealing

Summarize his argument. Do you agree or disagree? Why?