the fickle and inconsistent American public

One of the original purposes of this blog was to discuss the public and political influences on U.S. foreign policy -- the "giddy minds" of the title.  There's new evidence of how fickle and inconsistent public thinking is on many current issues, so read it and weep.

A YouGov poll developed by a Dartmouth professor found, among other things, that the public wants sharp cuts in government spending but can't agree where,other than foreign aid; that a majority says current policy isn't in line with their own preferences; that the world today is more dangerous than during the Cold War; that Americans would rather be number one in the world economically than to have their income levels double but be second to China.

There's more, but not much that's encouraging.The public is out of synch with elite opinion of either major party.