Suchergebnisse

Pollsters and pundits armed with the best public opinion polls failed to predict the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Is this because we no longer understand what the American public is? In this book, Susan Herbst argues that we need to return to earlier meanings of 'public opinion' to understand our current climate. Herbst contends that the idea that there was a public - whose opinions mattered - emerged during the Great Depression, with the diffusion of radio, the devastating impact of the economic collapse on so many people, the appearance of professional pollsters, and Franklin Roosevelt's powerful rhetoric. She argues that public opinion about issues can only be seen as a messy mixture of culture, politics, and economics - in short, all the things that influence how people live.

How American politics can become more civil and amenable to public policy solutions, while still allowing for effective argument.

Presidential rhetoric can matter immensely in moments of national crisis, and even during times of less melodrama. But the possibilities for rhetorical impact are slipping away from American presidents. In light of the multiplication of presidential spokespeople, commentators, on-line editors, and audiences, and the relative intimacy of other personalities viewed by those audiences, one might posit that 'presidential speech,' as described and analyzed by Tulis, is hurtling toward its demise. Tulis's important thesis may therefore need some serious updating. Adapted from the source document.