War That Feels Good

This chapter analyzes survey data collected during the presidency of George W. Bush to detect individual-level mechanisms of rally-round-the-flag effects. The results show that a rally effect emerged when a majority in the public embraced a national framework that reaffirmed collective identity and generated positive feelings about going to war against national enemies, which temporarily trumped the effect of partisanship on people’s assessment of the president. In contrast to prominent arguments about public opinion in the United States, the findings further demonstrate that rallying around the flag is not motivated by a rational assessment of military policies or security concerns.