A new national poll shows that the approval rating of the handling of foreign policy by President Barack Obama has sank to a new record low for his presidency.
At the same time, most Americans want the country to reduce it role in the affairs of the world as a showdown over Ukraine with Russia has many worried.
In a change from prior decades, close to half surveyed want the country to take a less active role in the world stage. Less than 20% called for the U.S. to have more engagement. The anti-interventionist current is one that sweeps across both party lines.
Militants that are pro-Russian took control of additional government building in Ukraine’s eastern region, while officials at NATO said imagery on satellites, showed no indication that Russia withdrew the thousands of military personnel it has massed on the border.
The new poll also showed that President Obama’s approval rating of the handling of U.S. foreign policy sank to its lowest level since he took office, with just 38% approving. This comes when his overall performance on the job has drawn higher marks over the past few months.
Obama defended the diplomacy first approach he has taken while in the Philippines earlier this week on a tour of four countries in Asia.
He said the people who want more muscle in foreign policy did not learn the lesson from the decision by the U.S. to invade Iraq.
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ranking Republican said following a week of rhetoric coming from the White House, he hoped the government would have responded to the blatant violations made by Russia, with something more than only a slap of the wrist.
The findings of the poll, combined with results of prior surveys in 2014, portray a U.S. public that is weary of U.S. foreign engagements and not enchanted with the economic system in the U.S. that many say is stacked against them.
