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Book Review
| The Evolution of Presidential Polling. By Robert M. Eisinger. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. x, 218 pp. Cloth, $60.00, ISBN 0-521-81680-7. Paper, $22.00, ISBN 0-521-01700-9.)Presidential Speechwriting: From the New Deal to the Reagan Revolution and Beyond. Ed. by Kurt Ritter and Martin J. Medhurst. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2003. x, 231 pp. $39.95, ISBN 1-58544-225-9.)
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| These two books, each in its own way, point to the aggrandizement of power in the modern presidency. |
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Robert M. Eisinger, a professor of political science at Lewis and Clark College, provides a detailed and amply documented historical study on the origins and growth of presidential polling. Relying on archival materials from presidential libraries, memoirs (presidents and pollsters), standard monographs, and pertinent articles, Eisinger reveals how presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton have used their own polling devices to obtain information about public opinion and to use it for their own advantage. |
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In his first chapter, the author provides an overview of his study, as well as his overarching theme—presidents seek power and autonomy and have used polls to obtain them. He states, "the trajectory of presidential polling has been shaped because presidents have sought autonomy—from Congress, from political parties and from the media" (p. 20). |
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The assessment of public opinion is an important issue in a representative democratic government. Prior to polls, public opinion had been measured rather unscientifically through newspaper articles, editorials, letters from constituents, and town meetings. Presidential polling rose not only to gauge public opinion but to advance presidents' interests. Independent polling provided autonomy from other political institutions—Congress, political parties, and the media—whose interests often compete with and obstruct those of presidents. Presidential polling is implemented to advance legislative and electoral agendas as well as presidential power. |
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While Herbert Hoover made some halting attempts at gauging public opinion, it was during FDR's administration that a pollster (Hadley Cantril, director of the Office of Public Opinion Research at Princeton University) supplied polling data relating to domestic and foreign policy issues. With the notable exception of Harry S. Truman, who disliked and did not trust polls, all modern presidents have used polls (paid for by national political committees or private funding) to advance their own political interests. |
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Some noted pollsters were associated with various presidents, such as Lou Harris with John F. Kennedy, Oliver Quayle with Lyndon B. Johnson, and Pat Caddell with Jimmy Carter. During the Nixon administration, the polling operation was the most secretive, and it was under the direct control of the White House chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman. With his background in advertising, Haldeman used polls to attempt to market Richard M. Nixon and his policies. Nixon's polling operation was more politicized than that of any other president. The pollsters Pat Caddell and Richard Wirthlin had immediate access to Carter and Ronald Reagan, respectively. |
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Pollsters using focus groups to refine public attitudes have served as important political advisers to recent presidents. While archival materials are not yet available for the last three presidents (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush), there is sufficient evidence to indicate that presidential polling continues to play a major role in presidential politics and has abetted the development of a presidency-centered government. Perhaps in his next study, Eisinger will address the use and impact of the Internet on presidential polling. |
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