Poll: Most Americans oppose military involvement in Libya
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Xinhua, March 31, 2011
A survey released Wednesday indicated majority of U.S. voters oppose the U.S. military campaign in Libya, while President Barack Obama's approval rating hit an all-time low at 42 percent.
According to poll results released by Quinnipiac University, 47 percent surveyed oppose Washington's involvement in Libya, while 41 percent support the mission.
The survey also gave Obama negative ratings how he handled the conflict, with 58 percent saying he has not clearly articulated the goal of U.S. involvement. Sixty-one percent of respondents in the poll said removing Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from power is not worth having American troops "fight and possibly die."
Obama has taken heat from both Democrats and Republicans for his handling of the Libya conflict. The Congress is worried with both its clarity and duration, while panning Obama for not consulting Congress before taking action. Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pentagon Chief Robert Gates and top military officer Mike Mullen to explain the campaign to Congress Wednesday.
Also according to the survey, Obama's approval ratings took a major hit, with just 42 percent of voters approved of what he is doing in office, while 48 percent disapprove of it. What's more troubling is that fifty percent of voters believe he does not deserve a second term next year while 41 percent said he does. The presidential election is next year.
The 42 percent marks a four percentage-point drop over the past month. A poll released March 3 said Obama had a 46 percent approval rating, while 45 percent of voters said he didn't deserve a second term.
"President Barack Obama's approval numbers are at their lowest level ever, slightly below where they were for most of 2010 before he got a bump up in surveys after the November election and into the early part of this year," said Peter Brown, assistant director at the Quinnipiac Polling Institute.
Brown said federal deficit, economy, foreign policy and healthcare woes are driving Obama's disapproval numbers up.
The poll surveyed 2,069 registered voters nationwide from March 22 to 28 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.2 percentage points.
