Pew's discovered shifts on Obama's foreign policy are mostly Republican

Pew Research's subheadline--"54% say Obama is not tough enough in his approach on foreign policy"--is both statistically and thematically baffling (a plurality is suddenly hawkish? wanting a "tougher," more aggressive approach to foreign policy?) until one scans the factional breakdowns. While perhaps unfavorable to Hillary Clinton and definitely unfavorable to Rand Paul, the breakdowns retain a considerable partisanship, meaning Obama's sudden inadequacy is mostly an unbaffling Republican thing.

Which is to say, Obama is not hurting among Democrats--especially the more liberal ones, which is to say further, the ones more active in presidential primaries. "Liberal Democrats offer strongly positive assessments of Obama’s foreign policy: 66% say his approach is about right," reports Pew. A plurality (52%) of conservative and moderate Democrats also gives the president a foreign policy thumbs up. The potential danger to Hillary is obvious here, although the answer to the question of just who can successfully exploit that danger remains a mystery.

Sen. Paul, on the other hand, should start popping Xanax now.

On balance, more continue to think the United States does too much, rather than too little, to help solve world problems. But the share saying the U.S. does too little to address global problems has nearly doubled--from 17% to 31%--since last November, while the percentage saying it is doing too much has fallen from 51% to 39%.

Those shifts are substantially red. A year ago only 18% of all Republicans said the U.S. is doing "too little." That percentage has now jumped to 46. Even more perilous for any quasi-isolationist Republican contender is that "54% of Republicans and GOP leaners who agree with the Tea Party say [the U.S] does too little to help solve world problems" (emphasis mine). Again, this is the base that is exceptionally inclined to vote in presidential primaries. And it has turned, it would seem, on the one-time tea-partying Paul. Last year they were with him; the same percentage--54--of "Tea Party Republicans said the U.S. did too much." But they're not with him now.

 

Comments

[Peter G]

It is a good thing that American foreign policy, at least now, is not based entirely on polling. That has been a bit of a problem in the past. For that is what got you Iraq.

[japa21]

Disagree. Bush/Cheney would have gone into Iraq even if it had 1% approval rating. It wasn't until just prior to the invasion that support for going in the way they did (w/o UN approval, limited coalition) reached 50% approval.

[Peter G]

I don't think it would have been possible without broad, if manufactured, public support. I have grave differences with Chomsky but he got that right.