The Public's Ready for More

Barack Obama now has the presidency. And more importantly, he has an opportunity with the public.

Most pollsters have noted the wave of public goodwill behind President Obama. It's true that the public always has high hopes for new presidents, although the polls show this wave is unusually big. But the opportunity here goes beyond that.

Goodwill alone, while useful, isn't enough. The public hopes any new president will do well; after all, they just elected him, and they want the government to succeed, not fail. But in his inaugural address, Obama condemned the nation's "collective failure to make hard choices" and called for a "new era of responsibility." That implies real public involvement in how choices are made. Even before the inaugural, the new president had spoken of the need to engage the public in finding answers and implementing solutions.

That's where the opportunity lies. Most people want to be engaged in their communities. Public Agenda's Voter Experience Survey, released last week, found six in 10 American voters said they intend to give to charity and participate in community activities "as much or more" this year as in the past. More than half (53 percent) say they'll be as active in politics as in the past. And since this is a survey of voters, the people involved are already more politically engaged than others.

One of the most striking things about the survey is that this view cuts across groups with very different views of the election. It's no surprise that African American voters were energized by the election of the first black president, with 80 percent of African Americans saying that they’ll participate as much or more in community activities next year, compared with 57 percent of whites. But notably, McCain voters weren't deterred by the fact that their candidate lost. Some six in 10 McCain supporters say they will give to charity and participate in local organizations, similar to the overall population.

The survey suggests a readiness for greater participation, going beyond the ballot booth. It's true that people often overstate their willingness to do "good deeds" in surveys, and answering a survey is hardly a binding commitment. But it is a strong indication of what people value, and in this case it's a value that can be tapped into for greater civic engagement.

Obama has often talked about drawing on this desire for service and engagement, and the survey suggests he's not wrong about how Americans perceive this. Now it's a question of how Obama taps into that value. Yesterday, we saw a suggestion of what could be done on the Martin Luther King holiday, designed a "National Day of Service."

Over the next four years, there will be lots of opportunities to engage the public in new ways. Much will depend on exactly what the public is asked to do, and why. Not every issue, or every moment, is right for public engagement. But, at least, the survey suggests the public will be open to the call.