Polling to Govern: Public Opinion and Presidential Leadership

Polling to Govern: Public Opinion and Presidential Leadership
ISBN-10
0804748497
ISBN-13
9780804748490
Category
Political Science
Pages
194
Language
English
Published
2004
Publisher
Stanford University Press
Author
Diane J. Heith

Description

Presidents spend millions of dollars on public opinion polling while in office. Critics often point to this polling as evidence that a “permanent campaign” has taken over the White House at the expense of traditional governance. But has presidential polling truly changed the shape of presidential leadership? Diane J. Heith examines the polling practices of six presidential administrations—those of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton—dissecting the poll apparatus of each period. She contends that while White House polls significantly influence presidential messages and responses to events, they do not impact presidential decisions to the extent that observers often claim. Heith concludes that polling, and thus the campaign environment, exists in tandem with long-established governing strategies.

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