Expert: Dennis Date: 4/23/2008 Subject: political capital
Question What is political capital and how does it work? I understand it vaguely, but are they actual points or is there X% of capital the President has? How does he use it and how do we know how much capital he has left?
Answer Political Capital is the goodwill or good feeling that a nation has for a President. If it looks like the President is popular, even if he doesn't control the Congress, he can influence the Congress by saying he wants this thing or that thing, and the goodwill of the people give weight to his requests. The Congress would be afraid to not give the President what he wanted because the people would be angry.
So, the Congress gives him what he wants because of his Political Capital. When the people get tired of supporting the President and his plans, it is said that he "spent" his Political Capital. That point may be reached through the reading of popularity polls, or some other way the majority may express their opinions.
