“In no country is public opinion as powerful as in the United States,” said British journalist James Brice in 1900 (Erikson, 3 ). He was very insightful as the use of public surveys became more and more widespread. Politicians traditionally aim to be re-elected. For this reason, many politicians are influenced by the results of public polls. The question of course is whether political polls are correct and to what extent they should affect and influence political decision-making. This is a question that politicians have had to ask themselves for many years and, ultimately, there are four main areas to think about in political polling. Walter Lippman, George Gallup, Herbert Blummer, and Lindsay Rogers offered these thoughts in an effort to explain the problems with polling and how much attention, if any, politicians should pay to them. Walter Lippman was a major critic of polling as well as a bit of an elitist. He believed that the general public could be influenced by elite propaganda and were therefore incapable of making the best decisions. The general population surveyed does not have all the most current and correct information to make an informed decision (Erikson, 3). When Lippman was talking about this, it was in the early 1920s, where people only got the news if they brought a newspaper and then it was limited to the amount of information published. Today you can find almost anything on the Internet, which in some cases somewhat discredits this line of thinking. Lippman believed that although the country's leaders were to be elected by the public, it would be better to have people with a scientific orientation making public policy because they would have a clearer idea of ​​what was currently happening (Erikson, 3). To a certain extent, I am in the middle of the paper, I answer any question. All four, Lippman, Gallup, Blummer and Rogers, have good points about the credibility of polling. although I think Gallup and Lippman are a bit extreme for today's culture. Lippman was too keen to ignore the polls and Gallup was too keen to impose them. I think polls are just another tool in a politician's toolbox. Like Lindsay Rodgers, I agree with Edmund Burke that politicians should use good judgment in making decisions. While I want the people whose job it is to represent me to be attentive when I make the effort to let them know my opinion on a particular issue, I try to trust them to look out for the best interests of my community. Cited Erikson, Robert S. and Kent L. Tedin. American public opinion: its origins, content and impact. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print.