“Here is the thing you must bear in mind,” [Theodore] Roosevelt said, clearly irritated. “I do not represent public opinion: I represent the public. There is a wide difference between the two, between the real interests of the public, and the public’s opinion of these interests. I must represent not the excited opinion of the West, but the real interests of the whole people.”

Morris, Edmund (2010-11-24). Theodore Rex (Theodore Roosevelt series Book 2) (Kindle Locations 10127-10130). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.