Everyone thinks they know what the "American people" want

Republicans say the California recall shows that the American people are fed up with the Democrats.
Some Democratic strategists are saying it means the American people are fed up with the status quo.

Who needs these ungrounded, post hoc speculations? I think it means Davis was in a bad way, had no charisma, and lost a popularity contest to a more interesting character.

This is just one example but I'm sick of television analysts and politicians, even the ones I like such as Dean and Clark, acting as if they have privaleged access to the unified will of America. I'm not even sure there is any such thing. I'd much prefer that candidates stick to telling us why their ideas are better for America, instead of asserting us that they can win because they have ordinary Americans behind them or whatever.

long live independent radio!

When they tell us "What Americans think", they don't mean to represent how Americans REALLY think. They are using a subtle psychological ploy to TELL Americans what to think.

Many Americans have a deep seated fear of being different, or on the outside. Given the lack of any social safety nets, this is understandable. Being considered 'fringe' could well be a life threatening situation, due to job loss, ostracization, etc...

So by saying, "American feel that...", they want to give the impression that if you DON'T feel that way, you are in danger of being 'out of step', or 'not on the same page'. Most Americans don't pay much attention to things outside the sphere of their everyday life anyway, so when "the message" is sent out, they just parrot what everyone else is saying to be safe, for the most part.

BTW, I say this as a lifelong American who's been something of a student of our national psychosis for 40 years.

to what the "American people" think or desire, a voice inside me automatically says, "How the fuck do you know? Who told you?"