Perhaps the most important consequences of the direct relationship that
exists between a president and the electorate are the sense the president
may have of being the only elected representative of the whole people
and the accompanying risk that he will tend to conflate his supporters
with "the people" as a whole. The plebiscitarian component implicit in
the president's authority is likely to make the obstacles and opposition
he encounters seem particularly annoying. In his frustration he may be
tempted to define his policies as reflections of the popular will and those
of his opponents as the selfish designs of narrow interests.