CAS PO 331 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Giovanni Da Pian Del Carpine
Document Summary
Key: defines public opinion as opinions held by public persons that government finds important. Attitudes: organized and consistent manner of thinking, reacting, and acting regarding to people, social issues, etc. Liberal: social welfare spending, social equality, pro-environmental protection, higher tax and military. Conservatives: national defense, liberty, traditional values, lower taxes. Mood can change when politicians fail or overreach. Differences in religion, values, prevailing political situations (political awareness) and education can make a difference in political views. Idea of polling is simple, but it is difficult to practice. Committees and individual politicians can take their own polls. Delli, carpini and keeter (1996); what americans know about politics and why it matters. Mettler: submerged state; a lot of what government does today is invisible to people. Many fail to realize that government is the source of the programs they rely on. 57% denied using any gov"t programs but 97% of those had relied on a gov"t sponsored program at one point.