The three features are (1) citizens’ political actions are driven by their opinions, (2) public opinion helps explain the behavior of candidates, political parties, and other political actors; politicians look to public opinion to determine what citizens want them to do, (3) public opinion can also shed light on the reasons for specific policy outcomes.www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/american-politics-today2/full/ch/.../outline.aspx
