Learning Objectives

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After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

Explain how public opinion changed during George W. Bush's first term as president.
Delineate and describe the "sources of public opinion."
Explain the why public opinion is often uninformed, inconsistent, and non-ideological.
Discuss public opinion about abortion and how it varies depending on the way the question is asked.
Know how public opinion is measured and how measurement difficulties and question wording affects the responses elicited.
Explain why the initial Holocaust survey elicited such peculiar responses and how this problem was fixed in subsequent surveys.
Speculate as to the relative importance of public opinion in the American political system.
Explain when and why public policy follows public opinion and be able to illustrate your explanation with examples relating to gun control.

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