Please watch the video pertaining to the relationship between Public Opinion and the Presidency.

What you will see in the following short documentary is the ongoing interactions between Government and People. And, more specifically, how the concept of public opinion is utilized in the political process to justify an administrations policy agenda.

Whether monarchies or republics, any form of government cannot continue to operate without taking into account the wishes, concerns and sentiments of the public.

Authoritarian governments can respond to public dissent with crushing retaliation. However, democratic governments are typically limited in their responses and must be careful not to violate civil liberties.

Regardless of the government type - public opinion can be used against government or in favor of government.

A large and frustrated populous can force government to concede to their demands and sway the policy of a nation.

But - at the same time - a crafty politician can use public opinion to justify a political parties agenda.

When watching news, you will be able to see how often both political parties invoke the sentiment that they are acting in the wishes of the people. Usually, the justification is established through what the majority.

For instance - in 2016 the Democrat Party can say that because Trump lost the popular vote, that the majority of public opinion is against his policies and that when they are actively trying to block his agenda they are invoking the public sentiments of the people.

On the other hand - the Republican Party can say that because the people elected Trump and a Republican Senate - it is they who have the public opinion of the people on their side to push through their agenda.

In the case of the 2020 election, although the executive branch has switched parties, the legislative branch remains razor thin in its split.

The concept of the mandate is used by any party that is in the majority to argue that they have the consent of the governed to lead according to their proposed agenda.

What I find interesting in this scenario is the change in the "tool" used to legitimize the party/government in power.

For instance -- in the past under monarchical governments, what established legitimacy of the government/ruler to act came from the top (God) while in the modern era - the era of Democratic Republics - what is used to establish legitimacy of government comes from the bottom (the People.) We see an inverse effect in which the idea at the bottom rather than at the top provides legitimacy.

Past	Present
Bible/God	Constitution
Monarchy	Government
The People	The People

The video below elaborates further on this idea of public opinion being used as a "mandate" to legitimize the agenda of an Administration or Congress. It is important because it is one of the arguments that played center stage during recent issues of the Supreme Court vacancy and whether to appoint a new Justice or not.

"We are doing it because this is what the people asked us to do!"

Mandate: The President and the People