Rendering Sensible Salient

In this essay, the author identifies the central challenge for democracy— crafting better ways to elicit a “we the people” that the people can respect. James Fishkin’s work has pointed the way. This essay takes a few additional steps. First, the author discusses the influence of technology on democracy and the importance of building understanding of the need for Deliberative Polling in the “post-broadcast age.” He then suggests methods to make Deliberative Polling efficacious on a national level.