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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (23224)	12/8/2009 10:42:39 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Obama Speech Increased U.S. Support for Afghan War, Poll Finds By Jonathan D. Salant bloomberg.com Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan won approval from most U.S. voters, who increasingly see the conflict as the right thing to do, according to a poll released today. The survey by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University found 58 percent of voters favoring Obama’s announcement, while 35 percent opposed it. Also, 57 percent said fighting in Afghanistan was the right thing for the U.S. to do, up nine points from a similar survey released Nov. 18. The percentage of those who said the U.S. shouldn’t be in Afghanistan declined to 35 percent from 41 percent. Voters were divided on Obama’s handling of the Afghan war, with 45 percent supporting him and 45 percent opposing him. That was a seven-point gain for the president from Nov. 8, when 38 percent supported his handling of the conflict and 49 percent opposed it. “President Barack Obama’s nationally televised speech explaining his policy and troop buildup has worked, at least in the short term, in bolstering support for the war effort and his decisions,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the university’s polling institute. In his Dec. 1 speech at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, Obama said the increase in U.S. forces served a “vital national interest.” Gallup Data A Gallup poll yesterday showed Obama’s overall approval rating dropped to 47 percent -- the lowest during his presidency -- following an uptick in the aftermath of his speech. In Gallup’s Dec. 2-4 poll, 52 percent of adults interviewed gave Obama positive marks. That figure declined in interviews conducted Dec. 4-6. The Gallup polls have a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. Obama in his speech also set July 2011 as the target date to begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Testifying before two congressional committees on Dec. 2, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the withdrawal will depend on conditions in the country and be based on a review to be conducted in December 2010. In the Quinnipiac poll, 60 percent of voters approved of Obama’s withdrawal plan, with 32 percent opposing it. At the same time, voters expressed doubts about the pledge, with 40 percent saying he would be able to keep it and 45 percent saying he wouldn’t. “The dichotomy between the almost two-to-one support for setting a July 2011 date for beginning withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan and the doubt that Obama will be able to deliver on the promise reflects a skeptical public about America’s ability to triumph there,” Brown said. The survey of 2,313 registered voters was taken Dec. 1-6 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points. Peace Prize Reaction The poll also found that 66 percent of voters said Obama doesn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded in October and will travel to Norway to receive on Dec. 10. “It’s probably a good thing for President Obama that the time difference from Norway means the Nobel presentation will occur while most Americans are sleeping and might get less coverage in the United States,” Brown said. He noted that “even among Democrats, only 49 percent think he deserves it, compared to 8 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of independent voters.” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday Obama plans in his award-ceremony speech to address being given the prize as he is ordering the troop escalation in Afghanistan. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: December 8, 2009 06:30 EST