Obama's Handling of Afghanistan Takes a Dive

12/1/2009, by Proloy Bhatta

HIGHLIGHTS

• Rasmussen Reports: 35% approve.
• Gallup: 35% approve.
• Poll of polls average: 40%.

As of last week, Obama's handling of Afghanistan was 42% approve, 49% disapprove.

But Obama's handling of Afghanistan has dropped to 35% in each of the latest two polls.

Gallup conducted their poll on the 20th to 22nd of November -- before Obama's announcement of his new strategy.

While a slim majority of Obama's fellow Democrats approve of his handling of the issue, his new policy may not be well-received by Democrats, who have indicated opposition to troop-level increases in Afghanistan. The details of the policy will likely be more appealing to Republicans, who are supportive of putting more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

According to Rasmussen Reports,

Thirty-five percent (35%) of voters rate the president’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan as good or excellent. But 41% say the president is doing a poor job, up eight points from October and up 17 points from mid-August.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) now believe all U.S. troops should be brought home from Afghanistan immediately, up five points from a month ago and up seven from early September. Another 18% say a firm timetable should be established to bring all troops home with a year, a six-point increase from the previous survey.

In September and October, a majority (52%) of voters opposed the creation of any timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Just 43% feel that way now.

Put it all together and 45% either want the troops home now or within a year while just 43% are opposed to such a timeline.

Here is the current poll of polls average of Obama's handling of Afghanistan: