PALO ALTO, California — President Obama’s address to the nation may have changed some minds when it came to
supporting his strategy of increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan – but there are still serious concerns about that war and about the Obama Presidency.
On one question – whether or not to increase U.S. troops in Afghanistan, there has been movement. Before the President’s Tuesday speech at West Point, 42% supported that option; after the speech, 48% did.
However, 38% of Americans would decrease troop levels, and 14% would keep them the same. |
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The improvement came almost exclusively from the President’s political base:
Democrats, the group that had been the most opposed to a troop increase. They are still opposed, but by a smaller margin than they were before the speech. Republicans and Independents moved hardly at all between last week’s poll and this one.
Democratic support for increasing troops rose 12 points -- from only 24% before the speech to 36% afterwards. But even more Democrats, 45%, want troop levels reduced. |
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Presidential speeches typically attract more of a President’s supporters than opponents, and the West Point speech was no exception. Viewers – of all or part of the speech – were more likely to identify as Democrats than non-viewers were. So the President had the opportunity to influence more of them directly.
But despite the modest increase in support for sending more troops to Afghanistan, American attitudes towards the war continue to be pessimistic, with almost no changes on key assessments of the war. Even after the speech,
Americans believe the U.S. is not winning the war, and will eventually withdraw from Afghanistan without a victory. And most Americans don’t think the President’s strategy will increase the chances for success there.
Just under four in ten say that the President’s strategy will increase the chances of success in Afghanistan. More, 46%, say there will be no impact one way or the other, while 15% say his strategy will decrease the U.S. chance of success. Republicans and conservatives are the most pessimistic. |
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The President’s speech brought a small change in public assessment of his handling of the war in Afghanistan – but no improvement in his overall popularity. 38% approve of how President Obama is handling the war in Afghanistan, up four points since the speech. Disapproval dropped 8 points.
Americans continue to hold former President George W. Bush more responsible than President Obama for the current situation in Afghanistan, but (as it was before the speech) a majority holds President Obama at least somewhat responsible. |
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This President’s overall approval rating has been holding fairly steady, fluctuating between what is his all-time low of 48% and 50%. In this poll it’s back down to 48%. 44% disapprove. |
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Methodology
These results are from a weekly YouGov public opinion poll. The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents and was fielded from Decmber 1-3, 2009. Results from interviews conducted online by members of YouGov’s PollingPoint panel are representative of the U.S. adult population. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 3.7%.
