Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 14, Number 21, DeMotte, Jasper County, 7 April 1944 — Public Opinion And Politicians [ARTICLE]

Public Opinion And Politicians

President Garfield once made the statement that “Real political issues can not be manufactured by leaders of political parties. The real ones can not be evaded by political parties. The real issues of the day declare themselves and come out of the depths of that deep which we call public opinion. General Grant was once asked who planned Sherman’s march through Georgia. He immediately replied, “The enemy. The enemy usually makes plans for you.” The present New Deal administration has spent eleven years in contributing to our platform by giving concrete examples of WHAT NOT TO DO. Public opinion may be defined as the prevailing common belief held by a large group or class of people on any given subject. Political parties deal with public opinion in two distinct ways. 1. By moulding a new public opinion on a subject only recently brought to the attention of the masses. 2. By focusing public attention on and giving wide publicity to matters which have been in the public mind for some time previous by observing the trend, marshalling the forces, getting out in front and leading the parade, politicians are often able

to direct and lead blocks of voters to the polls and land their votes in the ballot box. “He kept us out of war,” is an example of the first method which lasted long enough to elect Woodrow Wilson in 1916.“, “We reduced the number of boards and commissions from 72 to 8,” was widely used in the Democratic campaign in Indiana, in 1934, and is an example of the second class. The fact is that the number Was increased from 72 to 84 in 1935. The American people have a habit of choosing their own “determining factors.” Sometimes an unanticipated incident or a single phrase may unexpectedly dominate the popular emotions. A few other campaign slogans, besides the one stated above, ‘‘ He kept us out of war, ’' are: “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” which elected President Harrison. “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion,” which defeated Blaine. “Sixteen to One,” which defeated Bryan. “The Full Dinner Pail,” which elected McKinley. The slogan suggested for 1944 is: “LET S GET THIS WAR OVER.”