In his Tuesday address to the nation, President Obama had to make the case for military action against Syria to an American public more opposed to confrontation – even against terrorism – than at any time in his Presidency, and especially opposed to U.S. engagement in Syria. In the latest […] Read more »
Public Opinion and Military Action in Syria
The Syrian situation provides, among many other things, a case study of the relationship between public opinion and leaders’ policy decisions. The issue de jour is fairly straightforward and binary — take military action or not — and there has been a run-up time period in which to evaluate public […] Read more »
Reason-Rupe Poll: 74% of Americans Say It Would Be ‘Unwise’ for U.S. to Strike Syria
… Nearly three-quarters of Americans, 74 percent, say it is “unwise” to launch unilateral military action against Syria, the latest Reason-Rupe poll finds. Just 17 percent of Americans say US strikes on Syria without the support of the United Nations and Great Britain would be wise. [cont.] Emily Ekins, Reason.com Read more »
The likely opinion shift on Syria
Conventional wisdom claims that public opposition is one of President Obama’s prime impediments to obtaining congressional approval of military action against Syria. It shouldn’t be. Not that public opinion is unimportant; it is rather that public attitudes have proven remarkably malleable in such circumstances. Indeed, in every case on record, […] Read more »
Voters Across Age Groups are United in their Opposition to Military Action in Syria
In the August 28-29 national survey for NBC/Wall Street Journal (conducted jointly by Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies and Fred Yang of Hart Research Associates), the numbers on Syria were clearly challenging for the President. Less than two weeks later, the numbers on the three questions that were tested […] Read more »
Can presidential speeches change minds? The evidence suggest not
The presidency may well be a “bully pulpit,” in Theodore Roosevelt’s original sense, a position that commands attention. But as President Barack Obama prepares to address the nation Tuesday in support of taking military action against Syria, there’s little evidence (at least in recent times) that presidential speeches are very […] Read more »