Gallup Poles :: essays research papers

In 1935 a man named George Gallup of Jefferson, Iowa founded and became director of the American Institute for Public Opinion. He is best know for his Gallup Poles which till this day serve as the most respected public opinion surveys on politics. Before all major elections in this country Gallup Poles are conducted to get a firm sense of who is voting for which candidate and often why. Now with out any question the poles themselves are a great tool for politicians in order to gauge where and how hard they need to campaign. In addition it also provides many Americans with a good perspective of how the nation thinks and where they’re beliefs fall in relation to. Those are too benefits to the Gallup Pole, now the question remains, is the government too responsive to public opinion and do polls drive the agenda? However I think it’s a better question to ask if the government can be â€Å"too responsive† to public opinion and if it is bad if polls drive the agenda? First and foremost I believe that the only possible arguments against poles are that 1) they sometimes discourage voters and 2) they may have a little too much impact on the agenda. I believe one small reason for low voter turnout is because due to polls people feel as though they know who is going to win before the elections and don’t feel as though there vote would make a difference. But for the most part polls help out this country as long as their figures are true. We do live in a country ruled by the people and if the poles reflect the will of the people than I don’t see why politicians shouldn’t refer to them. It also makes politicians and their employees take stock of their stances on issues and their relationship with certain groups. For example if a republican woman running for Senator of New Jersey and she sees a pole stating that the majority of Asians don’t support her, she will try to figure out why that is and she will try to remedy the situ ation. Poles open some politicians eyes to some issues they may not know exist. For example say that woman found out that in past years the New Jersey republican party has not even addressed problems brought up by the Asian society and has totally ignored them.