ABSTRACT
Leadership seemingly requires the public to follow the leader; yet a representative democracy holds leaders accountable for their positions via elections. A public unhappy with a president's exercise of leadership will not grant that president a second term. The twenty-first-century president lives in a world where the public's evaluation of the president, particularly whether the public approves or disapproves of the job he is doing, is constant. The continuous polling of the public seemingly offers the modern presidency a means to use the public as an extra-constitutional tool to enhance leadership opportunities. In addition to the constitutionally mandated Electoral College votes, presidents also receive a popular vote total. However, for some presidents, the discrepancy between the Electoral College outcome and the popular vote outcome persists, and is reflected in the public opinion of the president once they take office.
