Public officials and candidates for public office routinely use public opinion【C1】______ to keep【C2】______ of what the people are thinking. An important question is the degree【C3】______ which these polls should guide leaders【C4】______ their actions. There are arguments【C5】______ and against the use of polls as the basis for policy【C6】______ . Polls can【C7】______ to effective government by keeping political leaders from getting too far【C8】______ line with the public's thinking. In a democratic society, the effectiveness of a public policy often depends on the【C9】______ of its public【C10】______ .when a policy is【C11】______ the public's desires, people may choose to【C12】______ or undermine it, thus making it counterproductive or inefficient.【C13】______ , when government【C14】______ a course of action with which a large proportion of the public disagrees, it【C15】______ a loss of public confidence, which can have a negative effect【C16】______ its ability to lead. The Reagan administration, flying high from 1981 to 1985,【C17】______ was brought low in 1986 by public reaction to news of its secret sales of weapons to Iran. The administration had not paid【C18】______ attention to polls that【C19】______ the deep antagonism Americans still felt toward Iran because the Ayatollah Khomeini's regime had held three American hostages. However, leaders can also do a disservice to the public they represent by using poll results as a【C20】______ for policy judgment. Effective government, as Walter Lippmann wrote, cannot be conducted by legislators and officials who, when a question is presented, ask themselves first and last not what is the truth and which is the right and necessary course. 【C1】