The FINANCIAL — Although President Obama made an address to the nation Monday night to explain his decision to commit U.S. military forces to Libya, fewer voters than ever give him positive grades on his handling of national security issues.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows 37% give the president good or excellent ratings on his handling of national security issues. Slightly more voters (40%) say the president is doing a poor job when it comes to national security.
Last week, just after his decision to get involved in Libya, 43% gave the president positive marks for his handling of national security, while 34% rated his performance as poor.
Positive marks for the president on national security are now at their lowest level since he took office in January 2009. His poor rating is the highest measured since last August. One year ago, 45% gave the president positive ratings on national security, while 32% rated the job he was doing as poor.
President Obama’s address doesn’t appear to have made voters more confident about his handling of the situation in Libya, nor has it made them feel more strongly that Libya is important to U.S. national security. Just 27% of voters say Libya is important to our nation’s national security, while 48% disagree.
Women give the president slightly better ratings on national security than men do. Voters ages 40 to 64 think the president is doing a better job than those in other age groups.
The partisan breakdown is predictable. While 71% of Democrats give Obama good or excellent marks on the issue, 62% of Republicans give him a poor rating as do a plurality (45%) of voters not affiliated with either major party.
Eighty-three percent (83%) of the Political Class rate the president's national security performance as good or excellent, a view shared by just 23% of Mainstream voters.
In late February, prior to U.S. military involvement in Libya, 67% of American Adults said the United States should leave the situation in the Arab countries alone.
Voters still trust Republicans more than Democrats when it comes to national security issues.
Recent polling also shows that a plurality (39%) says that in the United States today, the legal system worries too much about protecting individual rights where national security is involved. Fifty-eight percent ( 58%) worry that the unrest in the Arab world will lead to a major new war involving the United States.
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