The Evolution of Presidential Polling

The Evolution of Presidential Polling is a book about presidential power and autonomy. Since Roosevelt, virtually all presidents have employed private polls in some capacity. This book attempts to explain how presidential polling evolved from a rarely conducted secretive enterprise, to a commonplace event that is now considered an integral part of the presidency. Professor Eisinger contends that because presidents do not trust institutions such as Congress, the media and political parties - all of which also gauge public opinion - they opt to gain autonomy from these institutions by conducting private polls to be read and interpreted solely for themselves.

Spis treści:
1. Seeking autonomy, the origins and growth of presidential polling
2. Planting the seeds of presidential polling
3. Checks and imbalances, congress and presidential polling
4. Dodging the hill, presidential polling in the post-Eisenhower years
5. Take the money and poll, parties and the public opinion presidency
6. The media are not messengers
7. Counting the people, the evolution of quantification and its effects on presidential polling
8. White House polling in the post-Watergate era
9. Presidential polling in the post-Reagan era, consequences and implications.