Ads, Public Opinion

A panel of experts criticized and offered candid insights on the media’s growing reliance on public-opinion polls during Harvard University’s recent Theodore H. White Seminar on Press and Politics.

George Washington University professor John Sides is a leading academic voice on the Web on all things political.

Researchers from George Mason University asked nearly 500 scientists about climate change and the results were unequivocal: 84% agreed that human-induced global warming is occurring; and only 5% disagreed that human activity is a significant contributor. Yet when the Americans are asked what the most important problem facing society is, the answer is rarely climate change.

The American public and its elected representatives often seem paralyzed by ideological polarization and legislative gridlock. One of the great conundrums of the era remains how, in effect, to de-polarize the electorate. At the individual level, what techniques might best work to moderate positions?