Syria Strike Whip Count - No/Lean No: 124 Yes/Lean Yes: 35 Undecided: 63

[karynnj]

29. Where people are depends on the question

Here is a link that shows the question asked and the poll results. This poll was from Aug 28 and 29 - before Kerry's speech of last Friday and Obama's on Sunday. At that point, either side could take a specific question and claim it backs their position. (None show 91% of the country against it - I have no idea where that is coming from.)

Here, if you look at the second question, where specific alternatives are offered, only 26 percent favor "take military action". However, if you look at the questions 4 5 and 6, you see how the way the question is asked changes that number.

If the question is: "It has been reported that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons on its citizens. Do you think the United States should take military action against the Syrian government in response to the use of chemical weapons or not?", then 42% are in favor.

If the question is: "Now, more specifically, if U.S. military action in Syria were limited to air strikes using cruise missiles launched from U.S. naval ships that were meant to destroy military units and infrastructure that have been used to carry out chemical attacks would you support or oppose this U.S. military action in Syria?" Asked Aug. 29 only; N=291. , then the response is 50% in favor.

If the question is: "Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The use of chemical weapons by any country is a 'red line' -- that is, an action that would require a significant U.S. response, including the possibility of military action.," , the response is 58%.

Link:http://pollingreport.com/syria.htm

Note that this poll was taken on Wednesday and Thursday. This means that it does not reflect the success - or lack of success - of the Obama administration's actions. Kerry's first speech was on Monday - so that is likely reflected in the poll.

Now, I would say that the CLOSEST question asked to what Obama is proposing is number 5 - which had 50% approval on August 29. The two things that move people seem to be mentioning chemical weapons use and anything that limits the response.