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Presidential responsiveness to public opinion has been measured in a number of ways, each of which tells us something about the effect of opinion. One study examined whether presidents responded to public opinion by determining how often they wrote amicus briefs and asked the court to affirm or reverse cases. It found that the public’s liberal (or non-liberal) mood had an effect, causing presidents to pursue and file briefs in different cases.
Stimson et al, “Dynamic Representation.” But another author found that the public’s level of liberalness is ignored when conservative presidents, such as Ronald
Reagan or George W.
Bush , are elected and try to lead. In one example, our five most recent presidents’ moods varied from liberal to non-liberal, while public sentiment stayed consistently liberal.
Dan Wood. 2009.
Myth of Presidential Representation . New York: Cambridge University Press, 96-97. While the public supported liberal approaches to policy, presidential action varied from liberal to non-liberal.
Overall, it appears that presidents try to move public opinion towards personal positions rather than moving themselves towards the public’s opinion.
Wood,
Myth of Presidential Representation . If presidents have enough public support, they use their level of public approval indirectly as a way to get their agenda passed. Immediately following Inauguration Day, for example, the president enjoys the highest level of public support for implementing campaign promises. This is especially true if the president has a
mandate , which is more than half the popular vote. Barack
Obama ’s recent 2008 victory was a mandate with 52.9 percent of the popular vote and 67.8 percent of the
Electoral College vote.
U.S. Election Atlas. 2015. “United States Presidential Election Results.”
U.S. Election Atlas . June 22, 2015. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ (February 18, 2016). In contrast, President Donald Trump’s victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was a closer contest. While Trump finished with a solid lead in the Electoral College, Clinton actually received more votes across the nation, leading the popular vote.
When presidents have high levels of public approval, they are likely to act quickly and try to accomplish personal policy goals. They can use their position and power to focus media attention on an issue. This is sometimes referred to as the bully pulpit approach. The term “bully pulpit” was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt , who believed the presidency commanded the attention of the media and could be used to appeal directly to the people. Roosevelt used his position to convince voters to pressure Congress to pass laws.
Increasing partisanship has made it more difficult for presidents to use their power to get their own preferred issues through Congress, however, especially when the president’s party is in the minority in Congress.
Richard Fleisher, and Jon R. Bond. 1996. “The President in a More Partisan Legislative Arena.”
Political Research Quarterly 49 no. 4 (1996): 729–748. For this reason, modern presidents may find more success in using their popularity to increase media and social media attention on an issue. Even if the president is not the reason for congressional action, he or she can cause the attention that leads to change.
George C. Edwards III, and B. Dan Wood. 1999. “Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media.”
American Political Science Review 93 (2): 327–344.
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