I agree with you in the sense that public opinion never results in change in policy -- only in change of rhetoric. So, in the current debate, the Democrats have managed to translate "end the war" into "get our combat troops out!" They could have enlarged the position to "end the war machine", but instead they narrowed it, to "protect the troops."
BobW
--- Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
>
>
> Robert Wrubel wrote:
> >
> > Miles wrote:
> >
> > "I think you have that the other way round: Bush's
> > approval rating right now is about 28%, and the
> > majority of the population wants to get us the
> fuck
> > out of Iraq! No need to assume the minority of
> the
> > U.S. population with their heads up their asses
> are
> > the "mainstream". (Unless you're a Washington
> > journalist
> > --- Miles Jackson <cqmv at pdx.edu>
> >
> > I dont know about that. Why, if the polls are
> right,
> > are we getting no action from Congress?
>
> What does public opinion have to do with what the
> U.S. government does
> or doesn't do? Public opinion is one element
> factored in, but not a very
> important element. The important elements here,
> however, are (1) the
> 60-year u.s. policy of maintaining hegemony in the
> Middle East and (2)
> honoring the power of FIRE. Public opinion is merely
> an annoyance in
> respect to these issues.
>
> Carrol
>
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