Poll: Strong Majority Oppose Bush Foreign Policy

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0928-03.htm

Published on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 by the Inter Press Service

Poll Finds A Nation Chastened by War
by Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON - Three years of the Bush administration's ''war on terrorism'' appears to have reduced the appetite of the U.S. public and its leaders for unilateral military engagements, according to a major survey released Tuesday by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (CCFR).

The survey also found strong support for U.S. participation in a wide range of international treaties and agreements, some of which have been rejected or renounced by the Bush administration.
Thus 87 percent of the public and 85 percent of the elite said they would favor the terms of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; 80 percent of both groups said they favored the landmine ban; 76 percent of the public and 70 percent of the elite said they support U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court; and 71 percent of both groups said they back U.S. participation in the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming.

Indeed, the survey, the latest in a quadrennial series going back to 1974, found that key national-security principles enunciated by President George W Bush since the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and the Pentagon are opposed by strong majorities of both the public and the elite.

While supporting the idea that Washington should take an active role in world affairs, more than three of every four members of the public reject the notion that the United States ''has the responsibility to play the role of world policeman'' and four of every five say Washington is currently playing that role ''more than it should be''.


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[G_j]

1. kick

[bemildred]

2. Ah yes, but are these people "likely voters?"

This has been the case for quite a long time actually.
The political elites do not care what we think.

[G_j]

3. this also leaves out the 'split personality' factor

Americans will often say one thing and do another.
For example 'everyone' cares about the environment but look at all the brand new gas guzzlers on the road.

[BillZBubb]

4. Bingo, you win the incisive comment award!

Americans are always for the "good" things. Except for when they vote. I know people who claim to be "environmentalists" but always vote Repug. It's a joke. Virtually everyone is for a balanced budget too. But half the imbeciles in this country will still vote for the biggest budget buster in history.

Foreign policy issues aren't as important as gay marriage, abortion, and guns when it comes to voting. Priorities, you know.