In the United States government, public opinion is crucial due to majoritarian rule and the notion of “consent of the governed”. A president’s power resides in the people; therefore, the president may enjoy persuasive power if deemed legitimate. The general trend for presidents is to begin their terms with high levels of support. However, this trend is short lived as the public approval usually declines. This essay claims that public opinion may not be sound as the public lacks political knowledge.
In the article “Election 2014: What the Voters said”, a comprehensive political report called AEI presented exit-poll data from demographic groups. The report from 11/12/14 presents voters’ opinions on political issues. The opinions presented were: beliefs on which direction the country was heading, the marriage vs. gender gap, views towards the government and the economy, views on the legalization of same sex marriage, assessing the affordable care act, and opinions on 2016 election candidate. 50% of the voters believed that government wasn’t doing enough to solve its problems, yet the other 50% believed in the contrary.
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The American government was founded by democratic principles in order to serve the will of the people. Thus the people and their opinion are the basis of American government. Political scientist V. O. Key Jr. stated that public opinion must not only exist, but it must be heard by policy decisions (Yolaf, 266). Public opinion has the power to justify president’s policies, for interest groups to promote their causes, and for journalists to describe public preferences. One popular way to show public opinion is through voting. This provides important expression and guarantees that officials are responsive to voters (Yolaf,