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>> Now if you put the notes -
>> Small notes, pretty small.
>> Well the next time will be
easy for him, because most
of this is order.
All right, Antonio let's go.
>> All right.
Quick intro this time folks,
I'm just gonna throw it
at you guys and introduce you.
Hello, my name is Professor
Dennis Falcon,
and welcome to my Poly Sci lab.
Today we're joined
by Professors Bryan Reece
and Victor Obasohan,
and special student
guest, president
of the associated students,
Michael Barita
Today we're gonna be talking
about public opinion.
But more specifically we're
gonna be talking
about job approval ratings,
one of the most frequently
polled topics
in the United States.
Kind of casts the presidency
in the form
of a popularity contest,
but some people think that's an
inappropriate way to look
at such an important issue,
something that affects all
of us.
So first we're gonna jump
into the general description
of polling,
and explain why polling is
so important
in political science.
And I'll throw this first
to Bryan Reece.
You want to tell us just a
little bit about why public
opinion polling is so vital
to democracy?
>> Well in a word,
it'd be democracy.
We have a democratic society,
or we're trying to live
out a democratic society
in the United States.
And that's all based
on some sort of representation,
listening to what the public has
to say.
And when you have a large
country with you know,
two hundred
and fifty million plus people,
you got to have some way
of measuring what they think,
and one of the ways we do
that is with public
opinion polling.
>> And Victor and Michael,
the question is usually asked
of people, you know,
what do you think
about the job blank,
or so and so president is doing
as president
of the United States.
So it's asking the basic lay
person, American citizen
to render judgment on you know,
one of the most powerful people
in the world.
Does that really invite the
popularity contest?
Do you think people really know
enough to make a judgment
so important in democracy?
>> Well by way of definition,
since we cannot go door to door
and ask people how they feel
about their institutions
or political actors,
we use what are called polls,
which are simply the measuring
device used by professionals
to gauge the public mood
on a given subject,
or a given political actor.
So according to Doctor Reese,
you know, we have about what,
three hundred million people
plus in this country now.
And the only way
to do this you know,
is to engage you know,
you know, in polls.
So it gives us a snapshot
of what these institutions are
doing, or what a particular
political actor
or policy is doing.
So I think it's [inaudible]
using polls.
>> You know,
Michael you're a president
and you serve
as an elected official
at your level of representation.
Would you invite let's say the
regular, because these are
usually taken
on a fairly consistent basis
time-wise, would you invite some
kind of questioning
of how you're handling your job
by the average student
at the school you represent?
Is that something
that you would favor,
or in any way be afraid of?
>> No, no.
Of course not.
I think it's vital
to the direction you're taking
as president.
I think it kind
of gives you a sense
of how you're doing,
the direction you're taking,
you know, whatever organization
you're leading,
in this case it's
the presidency.
And I think the president needs
at times be subject to you know,
some of the opinions out there
to see, and correct what
he's doing.
I think President Kennedy said
an error doesn't become a
mistake until we don't
correct it.
You know, and I think that's,
sometimes the public you know,
will, can do
that for a president.
>> Now let's think
about some presidents
in American history,
because that's what we're
talking about is the
public presidency.
I think it was Theodore
Roosevelt who used the
expression the bully pulpit,
in this case the president being
able to use the mass media
and other outlets
to form an agenda.
Is that where it all started?
Or can we look somewhere else?
Professor Reese, or Obossan?
>> Well you mean
where public opinion started?
>> Oh yeah,
where they really started to see
that they can shape or use it.
>> There's two ways to think
about public opinion.
I think there's two ways
to think about many
of these concepts we deal
with in the textbook,
in the political science.
One is the role it plays
in democracy, you know.
I mean there's this idea
of the wisdom of the people,
and that's what we're trying
to include into our
democratic process.
But then there's also the
strategic issues,
the second matter here.
And we've had a lot
of presidents understand the
strategic importance
of having public opinion
on their side.
And they have a deliberate
strategy they use to try
to bring the public opinion
around to their, to their side,
like the bully pulpit
like you mentioned,
Ronald Reagan was a very big
user of public opinion,
our current president Barac
Obama understands the importance
of public opinion.
So it plays a very strong
strategic role
in helping a president get those
things done that he hopes
to get done.
>> I think you know,
in the election
of Andrew Jackson in 1828,
the presidency has become the
focus of politics
in this country.
And even though we are a federal
system, with fifty chief
executives,
the presidency remains the focus
of politics for most Americans.
>> We've seen the medium grow
along with these you know,
these presidents through time.
But again, is this a
two-edged sword?
Are we looking at the danger
of this actually becoming just a
popularity contest,
and elected leaders basically
you know, playing to the stage,
as opposed to making the hard
choices and decisions
that we need them to make?
>> Well I think we,
you're constantly dealing
with this two-edged sword.
You need to listen
to public opinion
if we're gonna have a democracy.
But there are also this concept
of minority rights.
So we've had throughout history
certain times
when the majority is trying
to take away basic rights
from the minority populations.
And that's when a leader needs
to step in and say I'm not going
to listen to public opinion
at this point,
because it's taking us
in a wrong direction.
So you know, you can point
to a dozen good cases of that.
Currently we're seeing a little
bit of that with regards
to the economic bailout.
I think the public may be
getting a little carried away,
getting the pitchforks
out trying to go after every CEO
in the country, even if some
of them are not to blame.
We're seeing that a little bit
with regard
to gay marriage also is a
good example.
Public opinion is probably
mostly against gay marriage
at this point,
but a lot of political leaders
are seeing that as an important
minority right.
>> Again, should we trust job
approval ratings?
Should we actually listen
to them, Professor Obossan,
when it seems
that outside events can play
such an important role
in how people perceive
the president?
>> Yes. I mean
if you're a president you have
to manage some
events you know,
to shift public opinion.
I don't blame Bush you know,
for hand picking people you
know, at his rallies,
because you know,
if you let everybody in -
[ laughter ]
So who knows, you know?
So I don't think the Secret
Service would be able
to protect him
if you let everybody in.
So I think you know,
it was proper for him
to hand select, you know,
as opposed to what Obama is
currently doing.
Look, if you want to come, come,
it's wide open.
So look, let's be fair.
Political actors manage their
personalities and their message
to shift public opinion.
This is a game.
If you cannot play it you know,
to shift public opinion,
you are going to lose.
Because in the end,
most Americans vote on the basis
of how public opinion is going.
You know, that's the reality.
I mean if you can manage it well
as a president, as a congress,
you have an asset.
>> All right, let me ask Mike,
in his position as a president
of a student government.
We all know
that when presidents first come
into the White House,
in general they have the
honeymoon period,
and their approval ratings
generally stand relatively high.
But as they serve their terms,
almost universally they leave
much lower than when they you
know, at their high points they
all leave below fifty percent,
if not lower.
You being in your,
in your tenure
of your presidency have you felt
the tug of you know,
maybe reduced expectations,
or lowering opinion
of your performance
as a president?
Or do you feel
like you still have the support
that you had
when you first came in?
>> Well to answer the first
question, I think it's
absolutely crucial
to understand the direction
you're taking again.
And I think as a, as president
of the associated students,
you know, you understand
that not every decision
that you make is gonna be a
popular decision.
You know, there are decisions
that are brought up to you
that sometimes aren't
in your agenda.
And it's these,
sometimes these decisions
that really cast some
of the popularity
that you might have,
or don't have, you know?
And I know as president you have
your agenda, but again,
you know, most times things will
always come up that aren't part
of your agenda, and you have
to be there
to again make the
right decision.
>> I'm gonna close
with remembering what Abraham
Lincoln said
about public opinion,
is that with it a president can
be successful,
but without it failure
is guaranteed.
It's a great topic.
Thank you gentlemen
for helping out today.
And students out there,
go hit the books.