| Abstract: | Democratic government has always assumed the need for an informedcitizenry, but modern polling methodology is giving citizensin the United States more information than they sometimes wantor expect. Contrary to popular opinion, this unexpected abundanceof information about the voters does not threaten the systemand may even help it work better. The need for information isespecially acute in the American two-party system where coalitionbuilding takes place in partisan activity before the electionrather than after as in the case of European multi-party systems.The weakening of the parties and the shift of some of theirfunctions to direct popular control only increases the needfor all kinds of information, ranging in scope from candidatesexual behaviour to public opinion data, and forces a new andnot always wanted role upon the mass media. |
