Public opinion or just bias?

Chapter 12 was looking at the role of the President, and his relationship with the other elements of the country.  It discussed that presidents do not tend to confide in their cabinet, because the members tend to be expertise in their own industries but may not have very much to offer other areas. Argues that the role of Vice President may not be as influential as many people believe. The chapter also looks at the influence of public opinion on Presidents and their policy making.

The presidents should feel accountable to the general public, because they are their representatives on the global platform. Therefore, it is important for a president to be aware of how the public views his decisions and policies. However, I also think that often public opinion is tainted by many other factors, that may not be fair to use as a base for their judgements. I believe it is important for people to be asked about how they feel towards specific policies rather then a president in general . This is because often people will like or dislike a president based on his party or because of the opinion of people around them, and not based on whether he is doing a good job in office. This will not help to guide the president on whether he is making the right decisions for the country, or give the following candidates the right impression of the matters he should be focusing on for the wellbeing of his constituents, only what they will vote on him for.

On September 2017, Donald Trump had 36% of pollsters state that they had positive or somewhat positive opinions of the President. There are many people who do not like Trump because of his policy, and how he has handle situations such as the riots in Charlottesville,VA which happened a few months before this poll was taken. Many immigrants are also very worried and angered by his immigration policies, and how he has a tendency to generalize people. However, people also often do not like him because they are told not to like him. At the polling, Hilary Clinton only had 30%, which is 6% less then Trump and less then her approval rating during the election. With Clinton, there are people who believe that her approval rating is so low because she is a women, and people dislike her because she is ambitious, and opinionated. There are also people who dislike her because she has been labeled “a crook”, yet have no understanding where that even comes from. Whether or not this is true for all people, everyone is biased on some level. Often, people have strong opinions of one candidate or president, yet can not explain why. They are often misled about many of the arguments being put further. Therefore, their opinion is not about the president and his policy, but on the image that they have attained through the media, their environment and their families, which is not the right way to understand if a president is doing a good job. When trying to assess public opinion, it should be more specific on policies.

The same way the the president should be held accountable of why he is making certain decision, people should be able to explain why they are so supportive or opposed to a president. When trying to assess a president’s public opinion, it should be based on his polices, and the actions he has been taking on domestic and foreign issues. Therefore, I think it would be better to assess people opinions on more specific situations and examples, rather than a blanket opinion on whether they have positive or negative opinions. Asking people to expand on their impression of the president’s prioritizes, whether he is helping the economy or making the right social moves to continue in a positive trajectory. This might actually give the president an idea of whether he is succeeding on matters that are important. I believe that this is more important and more useful then asking for a yes or no answer when asking if someone likes the president. 

 

Marcin, Tim. “Donald Trump is not popular-but Hillary Clinton is disliked even more.” Newsweek. September 07, 2017. Accessed November 26, 2017. http://www.newsweek.com/trump-not-popular-hillary-clinton-even-worse-approval-rating-polls-661070.

Nelson, Louis, Jack Shafer, Matt Latimer, Zia Weise, and Bill Scher. “Trump hits new low in public opinion — but he’s still beating Hillary Clinton.” POLITICO. September 06, 2017. Accessed November 26, 2017. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/06/trump-public-opinion-better-than-hillary-clinton-242398.’

Peck, Emily. “Why Hillary Clinton Is Really Unpopular – Again.” The Huffington Post. July 18, 2017. Accessed November 26, 2017. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-popularity-poll_us_596e5bc5e4b0000eb1967c73.