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Article: Public Opinion and the Contradictions of Jimmy Carter's Foreign Policy.
- Article from:
- Presidential Studies Quarterly
- Article date:
- December 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Center for the Study of the Presidency. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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One of President Jimmy Carter's more memorable promises was to conduct a foreign policy "that the American people both support ... and know about and understand" (Carter 1977, 955). Ironically, Carter's foreign policy was neither supported nor understood by much of the public.(1) What explains the inability of Carter to build popular support for his foreign policy? Contrary to widespread perception, Carter's difficulties with public opinion were not caused by his inattention to public opinion polls or ineptitude in public relations. Rather, I argue that Carter's inability to gain popular approval for his foreign policy resulted from a misinterpretation of the nature of ...