Do you think elected officials should rely on public opinion polling in making public policy? Why?

That would mean the Government would be forever calling referenda; a very slow and costly way to proceed.

It's far better that public opinion elects a government at the start on its party ideology and manifesto; and trusts it to make a reasonable job of administering the county - if it fails it can be kicked out, or into Opposition, at the next election.

After all, it can draw on a vast range of expertise to help it form policies, something we ordinary voters cannot do however much we might laud or criticise the government of the day.

Also, though I don't know if the American system is equivalent, in the UK every Member of Parliament including the Cabinet and Prime Minister is a constituency MP who can see what is happening in his or her constituency, and hold "surgeries" to which residents can bring particular local political concerns.

Not rely, because most politicians have access to more in-depth information, but I think it should inform their decisions. At the end of the day their job is to serve the needs of their constituents.

Not necessarily.

If Franklin Roosevelt relied on public opinion polling several years before Pearl Harbor, we'd all be goose-stepping today.