Should Government Be Run by Polls?

I think we should have a poll to find out.

The problem is you guys already believe it is, right? Didn't someone the other day say it was public opinion caused by journalists that lost us Vietnam and was what was harming the effort in Iraq?

I've said the whole time a politician doesn't have to listen to crap once he's elected; he just needs to lead according to the principles on which he ran. Those on the right here at JU seem to believe that it is inevitable that politicians are going to bow to public opinion, so it appears to me that that means we are already ruled by polls.

Hell no, governments shouldn't be run by polls.  They should be run by people with strong moral compasses that will stand by the principles of right, and avoid the wrongs that they might otherwise inflict upon their citizens or other persons throughout the world.

Running governments by running up trial balloons, or sticking a finger up into the wind to gauge which way the winds are blowing leads to governments of weakness, and leads to making choices that can come back to haunt the people that have to live with them in the future.

Thanks but no thanks.  Govern from the center sure, but govern from polls, no friggin' way.

The problem is you guys already believe it is, right? Didn't someone the other day say it was public opinion caused by journalists that lost us Vietnam and was what was harming the effort in Iraq?

I said it more than once. The Viet Cong proclaim that they were only able to win was because of the youth screaming for peace now when they were losing. It gave them hope that if they held on a little longer they would win. That is a matter of public record not opinion of the left or right. It does not mean that the youth at the time or the peace movement was wrong in thier beliefs it just means that the goals of the enemy of this nation were advanced by well meaning people, just as it is being done today. During WWII there was a peace movement, it advocated peace at any price. During the Cold war people would chant that it would be better to live as communist than to risk war. In supporting peace at any price we are showing weakness to the enemy. In America it is seen as our right to disagree with our leaders. This is not the case in the nations that see us as their enemy. It is seen as weakness of the government because free speech is nothing more than talk to them.

The Government is run by polls. Every Election Year the nation is polled. According to media polls in 2000 Mr. Gore was what the nation wanted as president. Not true by the national poll. 2004 Mr. Kerry was the media choice according to their poll. The national poll was much different. What this tells me is that either the polls taken by the media are faulty or manipulated. Not true with most elections.