Public policy mood is a theory and operational definition of public support for government activity created by James A. Stimson. Perhaps its greatest insight is to recognize that public support for government activity is not fixed in time. To the contrary, the public's willingness to support government expansion rises and falls in a thermostatic fashion. More specifically, the public demands more from government when it has endured periods of relatively low activity, and less from government during periods of relatively high activity.
The themostatic quality of public opinion persists. Since President Obama's first term forward, Mood has declined. This indicates the public has grown less supportive of policies that promote active government under the Obama administration.
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