Every citizen of the United States is the ruler of one of the most powerful agents in the entire world, the President. And in order to avoid many principal-agent dilemmas, the people must retain control of their agent more than once every four years at the ballot box. This control takes the form of everyday public opinion. How exactly does public opinion shape the broad powers of the President of the United States? Is it more beneficial for the president to achieve his policy goals or is it more necessary to limit the already growing power of the presidency? Over time and thanks to many technological advances such as radio or the Internet, the president has become more available to the people and the relationship between the two has therefore strengthened. In many situations, this relationship has become a “double-edged sword” for power. Public opinion is undoubtedly the most powerful check and balance on the presidential position and prevents the creation of blatantly unpopular policies; however, there are certain situations in which public opinion can be manipulated to gain greater informal power. The close relationship between the people and the president began with Andrew Jackson and his belief that the president was the sole representation of the common citizen against the corrupt in power. (Kollman 193). However, it was Woodrow Wilson who initiated a populist presidency (Kollman 197). By emphasizing direct contact between the nation's leader and the people, Wilson unconsciously established a mutualistic relationship from which both parties benefit. Americans were finally able to see and hear exactly what their president looked like and decide whether they approved of him or not, while Wilson was able to us...... middle of paper ......ssary of progress and public opinion can To prevent this progress, it is crucial that public opinion can limit this progress of authority in order to avoid the creation of extremely unpopular policies. With each new president, there is a priority on how to manage public opinion. Some, like Woodrow Wilson and Bill Clinton, chose to conform to maintain the status quo, while others, like Ronald Reagan and Theodore Roosevelt, used public opinion to gain informal power over others. branches of government in order to achieve their own policy goals. Public opinion is by far one of the most critical and important aspects of politics today and yet it can be viewed so casually in local newspapers, internet surveys and even daily local gossip . Not everyone realizes that their response to these issues could one day affect the future of the nation..