If Everyone Jumped Off A Bridge, Would You?

This weekend, on CBS Sunday Morning, contributor Nancy Giles asked, angrily, why the President and Congress aren't doing what the polls say. As she ranted, the only thing I could think of was my mother saying "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?"

The last thing we want is for politicians to decide by poll. Polls tell what's popular, not what the best course of action is. She quotes a poll stating that 81% of "us" are in favor of expanding the SCHIP program. But how many of those people actually read the bill, as opposed to just listening to what was said about the bill on the news.

Governing by poll is a recipe for disaster. Ask a sample of Americans which they would rather eat: chocolate or broccoli. I'm guessing chocolate would win by a landslide, but it's not the healthier choice. Should parents start serving chocolate with dinner instead of vegetables, if that's what the poll showed? Of course not. That would be ludicrous.

Do politicians work for us? Of course they do. But I put this question to Nancy Giles, how effective would you be in your job if you couldn't use your own judgement and could only say what Les Moonves (President of CBS) told you to say?