The Foreign Policy Disconnect: What Americans Want from OurLeaders but Don't Get. By Benjamin I. Page withMarshall M. Bouton. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.336p. $50.00 cloth, $20.00 paper.

In the November 2006 midterm elections, voters swept Republicans outof power in what was widely interpreted as a rebuke of the Bushadministration's Iraq policies. In subsequent polls, nearlytwo-thirds of the public opposed President George W. Bush'spostelection proposal for a “surge” in the U.S. troop presence inIraq. Undeterred, the president declared on January 14, 2007, “I'vemade my decision and we're going forward,” and his press secretary,Tony Snow, said on January 9, “The president will not shape policyaccording to public opinion.” How can a U.S. president sustain adeeply unpopular foreign policy, seemingly uninfluenced by electoralsetbacks or popular disapproval? Should thepresident be more responsive to public preferences? In an importantand ambitious new book, Benjamin Page and Marshall Bouton bring tobear an impressive array of survey data in order to answer these andother questions central to the study of public opinion and U.S.foreign policy.