Public opinion as real "politics"

Let's talk about politics. Now up until this point we've specifically been looking at government - that is answering the questions of who, what, and how in relation to policies. But politics is different in that it looks at why certain policies are made. We're going to start today by looking at public opinion - specifically how the public does (and does not) influence our elected officials.
SOURCE: Public Opinion: Crash Course Government and Politics #33. CrashCourse. Published on Oct 2, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJLDgb8m3K0