American Public Support for Air Strikes Against ISIS Grows

With President Obama set to address to the nation tomorrow night on his strategy for dealing with the Islamic State, the Washington Post and ABC News released a poll this morning showing substantial (and growing) public support for his policy of air strikes against the Islamic State. Ironically, however, that support isn’t translating into approval for how Obama has handled the ISIS threat.

Three points about the poll:

Therein lies the irony in the poll. While Americans are embracing the president’s policy of using air power against ISIS and they don’t appear to be any more eager than he is to use combat troops, they don’t think much of how he has handled the ISIS threat. A majority (53 percent) says he has been too cautious in responding, while only a third think he has handled it about right. More broadly, just 38 percent approve of his handling of foreign policy, which is four points lower than his overall public approval rating. In all, the Washington Post/ABC News poll provides more evidence of what Robert Kagan has called the Obama foreign policy paradox: Americans don’t like getting the foreign policy they tell pollsters they want.