Others advise leaders to ignore public opinion entirely. Even in the face of strong opposition to particular foreign policies—say, for example, sending large numbers of U.S. combat troops into the middle of one or more of the civil wars currently raging in the Middle East—pollster Jeremy Rosner predicted that Obama and his successors “will find that if they take strong actions abroad that advance America’s national security interests, even an inward-focused public will provide the latitude they need to act.”
Though I disagree with this advice, Rosner isn’t incorrect. The public tends to defer to a president’s judgment on national security, a function of rally-around-the-flagism and information asymmetry. On domestic policy, from the economy to taxes to health care, the average voter can assess whether something is working, at least for him or her (I have a job. Good. My taxes went up. Bad. I can’t find a doctor. Bad).