But the public mood is not so easy to assess.
Although the defendants won the case, public mood was against them.
What effect has the government had on the public mood?
After all, no family that lived through the 1992 election knows better than his how quickly the public mood can shift.
Any political leader has to measure and respond to the public mood.
Not since a news conference three weeks ago has the President given voice to the public mood.
At times it was hard to assess the public mood.
But the government has not shown itself to be a very good judge of the public mood.
They had little impact on the government, and could not shake the strong public mood for peace.
The public mood was changing, however, especially after the fall of France in spring 1940.
Deny everything, but let the public sentiment take its course.
Like now, when the players stand very much alone against public sentiment.
The way things are now, public sentiment will be hot.
It is hard to imagine a worse reading of public sentiment.
Still, public sentiment in favor of the initiative is running strong.
Its central theme, however, is media control over public sentiment.
But the Times ignored this fair reading of public sentiment.
"The public sentiment is clearly behind this kind of law."
But if they are not, he said, public sentiment will probably force Congress to mandate such standards.
"It's really designed for the media, to turn around public sentiment, and I think it does."