public demand versus the entrenched institutional interests that block radical change

Foreign Affairs - The New Politics of Intelligence: Will Reforms Work This Time? - Richard K. Betts:
"The failure to prevent the attacks of September 11, 2001, the failure to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq, and the proliferation of official investigations trying to figure out what went wrong in both cases have combined to put intelligence issues in a very unusual position this year: at the center of a closely contested presidential campaign.

All the attention creates both an opportunity and a danger. The opportunity stems from the consensus that major reforms are necessary. Previous controversies over the quality of intelligence have generally been inside-the-Beltway debates leading to only minor reforms at best. That will probably be true this time as well. But if there were ever a moment when public demand might overcome the entrenched institutional interests that block radical change, this should be it.…"

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501facomment83301/richard-k-betts/the-new-politics-of-intelligence-will-reforms-work-this-time.html