Do you think the Bush administration is too agenda centered without flexibility? Is the idea of "finger in the wind" poll driven politics a bad idea?

I think the "finger in the wind" strategy, is to rely heavily on polls to dictate a direction for public policy by government.

Well, maybe I'm assuming GW doesn't use polls much when he does -- but it only appears he doesn't pay much attention--or maybe that's just a liberal perception.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2001

Answers

...guess I was tired when I wrote this question

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2001

Of course GW uses polls- the trick is to figure out what groups he polls (I've got a few guesses . . .).

But really, using polls is a good thing, for the most part. I'd much rather see 100 senators constantly trying to get an idea of what most of their constituents want rather than deciding that they know best, public opinion be damned.

Of course, there are a number of times at which they may well know better, and I'd hope they'd act on that knowledge. The Public, as a collective, ain't too bright, in my opinion.

(please mark this down in your poll)

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2001

I pretty much agree with Curtis. I send those people to Congress hoping that they're smart enough to vote their consciences, and that I've chosen well enough that their consciences and mine will line up more often than not. They're hired to represent their constituents and they should try to figure out what their constituents want. But then it's their responsibility to make sound decisions, factoring in public opinion but not making it the sole arbiter.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2001

I'm remembering back a whole 3 years to Wag The Dog. The Public can be manipulated so easily by commercials, news media, etc. We elect a president on his platform, his issues. He is expected to choose according to that, and he is expected to have the strength to act on the choices. If our political system was designed to truly be at the whim of the majority, we would have a direct democracy. We have a representative republic instead, to protect from the 'tyranny of the masses' I agree- the public is stupid. It is childlike, impulsive and emotional. It only knows what the news shows. It is easily swayed by large-eyed small Cuban boys to forget the law of the land, and the larger purpose behind that law. People only see themselves, their community. The leaders are supposed to be impartial, adult, decision makers, with the ablility to see the Big Picture and the power to make tough decisions that do the most good for the greatest amount of people.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Polling by a leader reminds me of an old cartoon. A frantic warrior stops and asks a farmer: "How many of them were they? What were they doing? Which way were they headed? Please tell me, I am their leader!"

A dependent leader? What happened to the old style leadership? They led whether or not the collective minorites [speaking of voting blocs, not races] joined willingly or got dragged by the ass.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

I think polls are like any other statistics: they are usually misused, but they can be used intelligently.

An op-ed in yesterday's New York Times by Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) demonstrates an intelligent use of polls:

Let me tell a little story. When I was running for re- election as governor of Georgia in 1994, there were some who argued I should change my position on guns. Poll after poll came back showing that most Georgians favored various forms of gun control — or so it looked on the surface. But in the South, there's always a lot under the surface.

I decided to ask voters something else about gun control. I asked them if they agreed or disagreed with this statement: "Whenever I hear politicians talking about gun control, it makes me wonder if they understand my values or my way of life." You know how many agreed? Seventy-three percent!

For a politician in the South, gun control is not just about guns. Gun control — along with a whole bunch of other issues — is about values. What you are for says a lot about who you are and who you aren't. If Southern voters ever start to think you don't understand them — or even worse, much worse, if they think you look down on them — they will never vote for you.

This is a politician who understands that "the only poll that really matters is the one they take on Election Day".

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001

No, this is a politician that understands the importance of the inner workings of a poll.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001

Seth, how is that an intelligent use of a poll (unless by intelligent use you mean 'ask a meaningless question, then manipulate it to fit your preferred view')? The question he posed could be answered yes with equal sincerity by people on either side of the gun control issue - an affirmative answer does not mean the person is opposed to gun control - it just means they don't feel represented on the issue by politicians. Suppose the politician they were referring to is Zeb Miller?

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001