preview

Obligation To Follow Public Opinion Essay

Decent Essays

The president has long been the face of the government to most citizens. The most noise and commotion is caused for the presidential election and it can become more of a popularity contest. Who can win the hearts of the people and who will best represent the public become central questions. But is it truly the president’s job to follow public opinion? Technically no. Nowhere is it listed in his duties to follow the wishes of the public. Yet to more successfully fulfill his duties, public support is required. The president is not obligated to follow public opinion while in office, but he should always take it into account to. The president is not obligated to follow public opinion as outlined in the Constitution. The job and the duties of the …show more content…

If public opinion is completely ignored, presidents lose support and backing of their actions. It’s been seen that, “The people are the arbiters of access to and retention of presidential power,” (). To be effective in any of their endeavors, presidents need some sort of public approval, and public approval comes from following public opinion. It is not an obligation, but it is a tool for success. While studying citizen oversight, it was found that, “news reports of presidential policy successes and failures were correlated with higher and lower levels, respectively, of Gallup Poll-tested public approval of presidential approval,” (). This government was made to be for the people, so it only follows that government leaders are most effective when listening to the voice of the people. In essence, the president is not obligated to follow public opinion while in office, but he should always take it into account to. While it is nowhere written out that the president must consider public opinion, it is written in histories accounts of previous presidents. The government’s role and power is constantly changing. It may not always matter if the president obeys this unspoken rule, but it has been an important factor for years. The president represents the American people, so they better know their people

Get Access