Polling and Pandering: The End of the Presidency’s Moral Authority?

The proliferation and visibility of public opinion polling during the Clinton administration, at century’s end, have led many critics of American politics to fear that poll-taking-or focus groups and the like-has permanently replaced political leadership. Politicians and presidents will blow with the winds of public opinion, and pandering will come to dominate presidential politics. If future presidents simply responded to public opinion, the end result would surely be a presidency with considerable moral authority. The evidence for the morality and religiousness of the American public is overwhelming. Public opinion and other data have long shown that Americans are among the most religious people in the world, in terms of belief in a supreme being, memberships in religious organizations, and attendance at religious services.