Public Opinion, Polling, Media Bias, and The Electoral College
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public opinion
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the ideas and attitudes that people hold about an issue or a person
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the 2 roles of public opinion
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helps shape the decisions that officials make and shapes how successful a president is in putting his plans into action
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complications of public opinion
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diverse races, religions, number of people, regional differences, etc
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Sources of Public Opinion
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Personal Background and Mass Media
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personal background
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opinions based on experiences, position in life, personal beliefs (age,gender,race,religion,education,etc.)
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mass media
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refers to many different types of communication, text messages, television, etc
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interest groups
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groups of individuals with a specific view on an issue or topic, work to convince other people to adopt their POV
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public opinion polls
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a survey in which individuals are asked to answer questions about a particular issue or person
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Different Types of Polls
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Academic Polls, Straw Polls, Campaign Polls, etc.
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pollster
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specialist who works for the president and measures how popular the president is, what the public's opinion is on specific issues or programs the president is considering
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Sample groups
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Individuals selected to participate in a poll
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Different ways of selecting sample groups
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Random and Questions
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Random
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Talk to people from all over the nation
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Questions
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must be worded carefully because if not they can lead to confusion
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push polls
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polls that are worded to shape a person's response
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Media Influence
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Mass Media plays a key role in informing people about issues
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2 types of mass media
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print and electronic media
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Most america media outlets...
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are private businesses run for profit
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Publish info based on...
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what attracts viewers,etc
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public agenda
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the problems that receive the most time, effort, and money from government officials
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Media can influence...
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Which problems official regard as important candidates
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watchdog role
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the media keeps a close eye on government activities
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media and national security
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public needs to stay informed but government must keep some secrets; can also use media to shape opinions on government actions
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The Electoral College
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Process of choosing an elector to vote for the president instead of you choosing the next president through your own vote is part of this system
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Arguments for The Electoral College
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-contributes to the cohesiveness of the country by requiring a distribution of popular support to be elected president -enhances status of minority interests -contributes to political stability of the nation by encouraging a two-party system -maintains a federal system of government and representation
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Arguments against The Electoral College
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-possibility of electing a minority (someone not receiving the majority votes) president -the risk of so-called \"faithless\" electors -the possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout -failure to accurately reflect national popular will
