Poll: 26% think Obama deserves Nobel

ood news/bad news Q Poll on war and peace for Barack Obama.
Approval for the Afghanistan escalation is up by nine points in the past month -- voters now think the war is a good idea by a 57-to-35 percent margin.
A healthy 60 percent favor his new troop surge, according to the Quinnipiac survey, which has a two percent margin of error.
But only 26 percent think the president, who has been in office for less than a year, deserves to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Q: "The jump in public support for Obama’s war policy comes as voters say 66 – 26 percent he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he will be awarded this week, and 41 percent say the Nobel committee’s choice of Obama for the award causes them to think less of it, while 6 percent say it makes them think better of the prize and 49 percent say it makes no difference."
The whole release, which has crosstabs, after the jump.
FOR RELEASE: DECEMBER 8, 2009

OBAMA GETS SURGE IN AFGHAN WAR APPROVAL,
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY NATIONAL POLL FINDS;
BUT ONLY 26% OF U.S. VOTERS SAY HE DESERVES NOBEL PRIZE

Public support for the war in Afghanistan is up nine percentage points in the last three weeks, as American voters say 57 – 35 percent that fighting the war is the right thing to do. Approval of President Barack Obama’s handling of the war is up seven points in the same period, from a 38 – 49 percent negative November 18 to a 45 – 45 percent split, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
American voters approve 58 – 37 percent of President Obama’s decision to send 30,000 more combat troops to the war-torn nation, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-per-ack) University poll finds. And voters approve 60 – 32 percent of the President’s plan to begin withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan in July 2011. But by a 45 – 40 percent margin, Americans do not believe he will be able to keep that promise.
The jump in public support for Obama’s war policy comes as voters say 66 – 26 percent he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he will be awarded this week, and 41 percent say the Nobel committee’s choice of Obama for the award causes them to think less of it, while 6 percent say it makes them think better of the prize and 49 percent say it makes no difference.
“President Barack Obama’s nationally televised speech explaining his policy and troop buildup has worked, at least in the short term, in bolstering support for the war effort and his decisions,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “History teaches that the bully pulpit can be a powerful tool for a president who knows how to use it, especially when it comes to foreign policy. The American people tend to rally around their presidents in military matters, at least for a while. It took some time for similar type speeches about Vietnam and Iraq by Presidents Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush respectively to lose their ability to rally support.”
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Quinnipiac University Poll/December 8, 2009 – page 2
“It’s probably a good thing for President Obama that the time difference from Norway means the Nobel presentation will occur while most Americans are sleeping and might get less coverage in the United States,” Brown added. “Two out of three Americans don’t think he deserves it compared to the quarter who do. Even among Democrats, only 49 percent think he deserves it, compared to 8 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of independent voters. As is the case with many questions related to the President there are wide gender and racial gaps.”
Among women, 31 percent think Obama deserves the award, compared to only 19 percent of men. Seventy-three percent of blacks, 29 percent of Hispanics and 18 percent of whites think so.
In a November 18 Quinnipiac University survey, American voters said 48 – 41 percent that fighting in Afghanistan was the right thing to do. Since then Democrats have moved from 58 – 31 percent against the war to a 47 – 46 percent split. Republican support inched up from 68 – 22 percent to 71 – 21 percent and independent backing is up from 51 – 39 percent to 58 – 34 percent.
“The dichotomy between the almost two-to-one support for setting a July 2011 date for beginning withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan and the doubt that Obama will be able to deliver on the promise reflects a skeptical public about America’s ability to triumph there,” Brown said.
“Similarly, American voters say 64 – 30 percent that eliminating the threat from terrorists operating from Afghanistan is a worthwhile goal for American troops to fight and possibly die for, but those same voters say 52 – 38 percent they don’t think the United States will be successful in eliminating the terrorist threat from Afghanistan.”
From December 1 – 6, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,313 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed– http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter.