…legislators do not follow poll results. The quality of government, I might add, would be appreciably better if they did. Legislators are not particularly responsive to public opinion, chiefly because they become entrapped and enmeshed in the power struggle and archaic rules within their own establishment. We are often told that the function of leadership is to lead. Not poll results, but that inner voice alone, should be heeded. This is an attractive and appealing concept of leadership and one which has intrigued mankind from the earliest days. Unfortunately, it fits perfectly such eminent leaders as Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Premier Stalin. All three had supreme contempt for the views of the mass of people. Hitler, you may recall, described the common people as “mere ballot cattle.” This is not the kind of leadership we want. In a democracy we demand that the views of the people be taken into account. This does not mean that leaders must follow the public’s views slavishly; it does mean that they should have available an accurate appraisal of public opinion and take some account of it in reaching their decision. (George Gallup, “Polls and the Political Process—Past, Present, and Future,” The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Winter, 1965-1966), pp. 547-8 at pp. 544-549)