The Syrian situation provides, among many other things, a case study of the relationship between public opinion and leaders’ policy decisions. The issue de jour is fairly straightforward and binary — take military action or not — and there has been a run-up time period in which to evaluate public opinion. Plus, the president has taken the fairly unusual steps of a) asking the people’s elected representatives, Congress, to weigh in on the decision before he takes action, and b) taking explicit and public notice of public opinion as part of his many discussions, speeches, and interviews on the topic. [cont.]
Frank Newport, Gallup
Recent polls: Syria