When a group of citizens has a strong influence on public policy, its opinion has what quality?

(A.) Reliability (B.) Political impact (C.) Intensity (D.) Depth (E.) Latency

Despite most Americans having only a minor interest in politics and public policy, the fundamental assumption of democracy is that citizens have an idea of what they want government to do. American opinion, however, has strong political consequences. For example, as fewer Americans supported the war in Iraq, a similar decline in support was observed among politicians. Public opinions shape voting decisions, and many Americans voted for Democratic congressional candidates because they opposed the war in Iraq. And as Americans’ worries turned from the war to financial troubles, political fortunes were made or failed depending on the candidates’ stances on economic policies