2-to-1 Majority of Americans Favor Obama Meeting with Iranian Leaders, but only 1-in-3 Favor Sending More U.S. Troops to Afghanistan.New Financial Times/Harris Poll examines U.S. and European attitudes to key foreign policy issues ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Most Americans feel very positively about President Obama, but that does not mean they support everything he says he plans to do. A new Financial Times/Harris Poll finds that they support his positions on some foreign policy issues but not on others. The poll, which covers not just the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. but also the five largest European countries, measures public attitudes on some of the key foreign policy issues facing the new president. A 46% to 30% plurality The opinion of an appellate court in which more justices join than in any concurring opinion. The excess of votes cast for one candidate over those votes cast for any other candidate. Appellate panels are made up of three or more justices. of Americans is opposed to the president's plan to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. On other hand, a 65% to 35% majority of Americans supports meeting with Iranian leaders, something he has said he would consider. The poll also finds Americans to be split on continuing the embargo embargo (ĕmbär`gō), prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports. Instances of confining all domestic ships to port are rare, and the Embargo Act of 1807 is the sole example of this in on Cuba: 35% favor continuing it, 22% oppose it while fully 42% neither support nor oppose it. These are some of the findings of a Financial Times/Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive Harris Interactive (NASDAQ: HPOL) is an American market research company that specializes in public opinion research using both telephone and surveys on online panels. The company is the product of a 1996 merger between the Gordon S. Black Company and Louis Harris & Associates. [R] among a total of 6,299 adults (1,000 or more in each country), aged 16-64, within France, Germany, Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. , Spain, and the United States and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy between 8 and 15 January 2009. In Europe, there is no public consensus on whether to send more of their troops. Substantial numbers of people (60% in Germany, 57% in Britain, 53% in Italy, 53% in France, and 45% in Spain) are opposed to sending more of their troops to Afghanistan. And these numbers are probably influenced by the extraordinary popularity of the new president ("European Reactions to President Obama Overwhelmingly Positive". January 22, 2009), with many more people now wanting their countries to support President Obama and the United States than wanted to support President Bush's policies. Other interesting findings include: * In Europe, majorities (61% in Britain, 51% in France) or pluralities (50% in Germany, 43% in Italy and 32% in Spain) are "neutral" on whether or not President Obama should continue the U.S. embargo on Cuba. Most Europeans with opinions on the subject think the U.S. should end the embargo. * The international financial and economic crisis is by far the dominant issue that people think President Obama should address. By wide margins, many more people (from 58% in the U.S. to 35% in Germany) mention this crisis than mention any other issue on his agenda. * Most people in the United States (77%), Britain (77%) and France (71%) think Britain and France should keep their seats on the U.S. Security Council. Most people in Italy (70%) and Spain (58%), and 49% in Germany, think they should give up their seats and be replaced by a single European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community seat. * Very large majorities of adult Europeans, from 84% in Italy to 68% in Germany, agree with the 65% of Americans who think President Obama should meet with Iranian leaders to discuss Iran's production of nuclear weapons. * Majorities in all the five European countries, from 75% in France to 58% in Britain think President Obama should place less emphasis on the "war on terror This article is about U.S. actions, and those of other states, after September 11, 2001. For other conflicts, see Terrorism. The War on Terror (also known as the War on Terrorism " than did President Bush. Americans are split 45% to 45% on this. So What? Many Europeans indicate by their replies to this survey that they are hoping that President Obama's foreign policies will be different from President Bush's policies, for example, on talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Iran or ending the embargo on Cuba. President Obama's astronomical popularity in Europe will make it easier for him to request and receive support from Europe. However, this popularity does not mean that Europeans give, or will give, his policies unconditional support. Methodology This FT/Harris Poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,299 adults (aged 16-64) within France (1,021), Germany (1,107), Great Britain (1,071), Spain (1,007) and the United States (1,066), and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy (1,027) between 8 and 15 January 2009. Figures for age, sex, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. Please help [ improve the introduction] to meet Wikipedia's layout standards. You can discuss the issue on the talk page. weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology are available at www.harrisinteractive.com. These statements conform to Verb 1. conform to - satisfy a condition or restriction; "Does this paper meet the requirements for the degree?" fit, meet coordinate - be co-ordinated; "These activities coordinate well" the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls and of the British Polling Council The British Polling Council (BPC) is an association of market research companies whose opinion polls are regularly published or broadcast in media in the United Kingdom. The objective of the BPC is to ensure standards of disclosure, designed to provide readers of published . J7275 Q1405, 1410, 1420, 1430, 1435, 1440, 1445, 1455 About Harris Interactive Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal Two or more modes of operation. The term is used to refer to a myriad of functions and conditions in which two or more different methods, processes or forms of delivery are used. On the Web, it refers to asking for something one way and receiving the answer another; for example requesting research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. , European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com. Harris Interactive Inc. 1/09 |
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