He was, he said, simply sending ideas into the marketplace, where the public could accept or reject them.
President Clinton's staff kept giving him that line to sell to the public long after the public had rejected it.
The experiment did not prove successful, however, as the Australian public largely rejected the design.
They fear, understandably, that the public would reject it.
Then again, the public could someday reject the stuff.
The French public and the politicians who represent them reject that charge with a variety of rationalizations.
Critics say a fear that the public will reject sentencing reform is what keeps the Legislature from acting.
Even the American public has on occasion rejected an excess of elegance.
And the public may now reject the President's campaign to blame others for his predicament.
"The public will certainly reject this latest proposal as well."