"The elephant in the corner is the wounded and sagging figure of democracy, but public policy scholars appear not to see it. The voices of the privileged, well-regarded citizens are loud and influential, while ordinary citizens barely speak with a whisper that is lost on the ears of inattentive policy-makers. The public policies that emerge from and reinforce such uneven participation and representation perpetuate inequality. Yet, few public policy studies even mention democracy and certainly do not use it as criteria for evaluation. How has it happened that the study of public policy has flourished, and yet the critical issue of policy implications for democracy is unnoticed ?