A New Poll Shows Increased Doubts About Obama’s Support For Israel

“Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,”The Hill, 3/4/13)

A Recent The Hill Poll Found That “Three Times As Many Voters Believe The Obama Administration Is Not Supportive Enough Of Israel As Believe It Is Too Supportive.” “Three times as many voters believe the Obama administration is not supportive enough of Israel as believe it is too supportive, according to a new poll for the Hill. The proportion of voters who now say the president does not give strong enough backing to Israel is higher than it was in each of three similar surveys conducted for The Hill since May 2011. Correspondingly, fewer voters now find the White House’s policy excessively supportive of Israel.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,” The Hill, 3/4/13)

• “A Full 39 Percent Said Obama Is Not Supportive Enough, The Highest Percentage The Hill Poll Has Seen.” “According to the latest Hill Poll, just 13 percent of respondents say the president’s policy toward Israel is too supportive. A full 39 percent said Obama is not supportive enough, the highest percentage The Hill Poll has seen. Over the past two years, recent surveys for The Hill show a fluctuating number of voters who believe the president needs to express stronger support of Israel. In a poll for The Hill conducted in May 2011, 27 percent of voters said Obama was too supportive toward Israel, while 31 percent said he was not supportive enough.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,” The Hill, 3/4/13)
• The Percentage Of Voters Who Believe Obama Is “Generally Anti-Israel” Remained Slightly Larger Than The Percentage Of Those Who Believe He Is Pro-Israel. “Meanwhile, in the most recent survey for The Hill, a slightly larger percentage of likely voters say Obama is generally anti-Israel than say he is pro-Israel, 30 percent to 28 percent. The percentage of voters who label Obama as pro-Israel is up slightly from a September 2011 survey for The Hill, as is the number of voters who say Obama is anti-Israel. Overall though, the data hasn’t changed much since 2011. In the September survey, 23 percent dubbed Obama pro-Israel, while 29 percent said the president was anti-Israel. In the most recent survey, 29 percent of likely voters said Obama is neither, which is a somewhat smaller figure than the 38 percent of voters who gave that answer in 2011.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,” The Hill, 3/4/13)

The Poll’s Results “Underline The American Public’s Concern About Obama’s Policy On The Jewish State At A Time Of Heightened Fears About Iran’s Nuclear Program.” “These findings underline the American public’s concern about Obama’s policy on the Jewish state at a time of heightened fears about Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has insisted that Iran must be stopped by any means necessary, including a military strike, from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Obama administration has expressed its preference for a diplomatic solution, a posture that pro-Israel critics say is insufficiently muscular.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,”The Hill, 3/4/13)

Recent Surveys Also Showed That Voters Believe The U.S. Is Less Respected Internationally Under Obama

Overall, More Voters Now Believe That Obama Has Damaged U.S. Standing In The World, A Reversal From 2011 When 47 Percent Of Voters Believed He Had Improved The U.S. Image Abroad . “As Obama embarks on a second-term push to secure his place in history, the president is no doubt thinking about his global reputation. But according to a comparison of two recent surveys for The Hill, fewer voters now believe Obama has improved the United States’ standing in the world. In May 2011, 47 percent said Obama had improved the country’s standing, while 38 percent said Obama damaged the nation’s reputation. But in the Hill Poll’s most recent survey, just 37 percent said the United States is more respected internationally than it was prior to Obama taking office, while a full 43 percent said the country is less respected in the world.” (Lara Seligman, “Hill Poll: President’s Support For Israel Found Wanting By Many Voters,”The Hill, 3/4/13)

VIDEO: Obama On Benghazi Over 3 Months Later: “Sloppiness” But “We Have Some Very Good Leads” 

VIDEO: Feinstein: We Knew Something Would Happen In Benghazi But Didn’t Do Anything About It 

VIDEO: Obama Defends Chuck Hagel 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: “If I Was From The United States, I’d Vote For Obama.” “This isn’t an endorsement President Obama will claim. Hugo Chavez, the socialist president of Venezuela, told state television: ‘I hope this doesn’t harm Obama, but if I was from the United States, I’d vote for Obama.’ Chavez, who like Obama is seeking re-election, also called the American president ‘a good guy,’ reports Reuters. ‘I think that if Obama was from Barlovento or some Caracas neighborhood, he’d vote for Chavez,’ said the Venezuela leader.” (David Jackson, “Obama Gets Endorsement He Doesn’t Want — From Chavez,” USA Today, 10/1/12) 

Tuesday, September 25: Secretary Clinton Meets With Prime Minister Of Lebanon Najib Mikati

Tuesday, September 25: Secretary Clinton Meets With UNSYG Special Representative For Syria Lakhdar Brahimi

Tuesday, September 25: Secretary Clinton Meets With Vice President Of Iraq Khudayr Musa Jafar Abbas Al-Khuzai

Tuesday, September 25: Secretary Clinton Meets With Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Araby

Tuesday, September 25: Secretary Clinton Meets With Yemeni President Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi

Hillary Clinton Meets With 8 World Leaders 

Sunday, September 23: Secretary Clinton Meets With EU High Representative Catherine Ashton

Sunday, September 23: Secretary Clinton Meets With Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina

Monday, September 24: Secretary Clinton Meets With Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari

Monday, September 24: Secretary Clinton Meets With Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf

Monday, September 24: Secretary Clinton Meets With Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Monday, September 24: Secretary Clinton Meets With Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi

Monday, September 24: Secretary Clinton Meets With Congolese President Kabila and Rwandan President Kagame

While Obama Meets With The 5 Hosts Of The View

Monday, September 24: Obama Tapes An Appearance On “The View”

NBC’s Chuck Todd: Obama’s Decision To Avoid Controversy By Not Scheduling Bilateral Meetings During The U.N. General Assembly Is “Odd” Given The Current Crises In The Middle East. NBC’S CHUCK TODD: “Meanwhile, today the president comes to New York for the United Nations General Assembly where he delivers his speech tomorrow but won’t have a single one-on-one meeting with a world leader on his schedule. Not anybody. This is about a do-no-harm trip and his aides don’t want any unexpected news. Republicans are already making hay of the president making time to tape the View today. He will also deliver a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. Obama campaign senior advisor Robert Gibbs was pushed about this schedule on Fox News.” OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISOR ROBERT GIBBS: “We have schedules. Leaders have schedules. In many cases those schedules aren’t going to overlap.” FOX NEWS’ CHRIS WALLACE: “But he has time for Whoopi Goldberg but he doesn’t have time for world leaders?” GIBBS: “No, Chris look, the president is going to be actively involved at the U.N. General Assembly.” TODD: “The White House also argues that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice will hold meetings. But folks it is odd to have a president come to the United Nations and not have any bilaterals. Granted it is a campaign year, but still odd considering what’s going on in the Middle East.” (MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” 9/24/12)

VIDEO: On CNN, Obama U.N. Ambassador Pressed On Failure Of Obama Policy In Middle East.

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House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Said That Criticizing Obama’s Record On Israel Is Just A Distraction From Tax Cuts. BLOOMBERG’S AL HUNT: “Do you think he will do as well with the Jewish vote this time as he did last time?” REP. NANCY PELOSI: “The election will tell us that.” HUNT: “What do you think?” PELOSI:  “I think he that he will. I think that he will because the fact is when the facts get out. You know many of the republicans are using Israel as an excuse. What they really want are tax cuts for the wealthy. So Israel that can be one reason they put forth.” HUNT: “That is why some of the republican Jewish supporters are really active.” REP. PELOSI: “Well that’s how they are being exploited. And they’re smart people, they follow these issues. But they have to know the facts.” (Bloomberg’s “Political Capital,” 7/27/12)

YESTERDAY: Obama Made A Last Minute Phone Call To Putin Before The U.N. Vote In Which “They Noted The Differences Our Governments Have Had On Syria, But Agreed To Have Their Teams Continue To Work Toward A Solution.” “President Obama called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to urge his cooperation on Syria, but Russia’s veto was a foregone conclusion. The country is a close ally and weapons supplier to Syria, which hosts Russia’s only naval base on the Mediterranean. ‘The two Presidents noted the growing violence in Syria and agreed on the need to support a political transition as soon as possible that achieves our shared goal of ending the violence and avoiding a further deterioration of the situation,’ according to a White House readout of the call between Putin and Obama. ‘They noted the differences our governments have had on Syria, but agreed to have their teams continue to work toward a solution.’” (Julian Pequet, “Russia, China Veto UN Sanctions Against Syria,” The Hill’s “Global Affairs” Blog, 7/19/12)

TODAY: Russia And China Vetoed A U.N. Resolution Calling For Sanctions Against The Assad Regime For The Third Time Since The Conflict Began 17 Months Ago. “Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. It’s the third time the two countries have vetoed sanctions against Assad’s regime since the revolt against his rule broke out 17 months ago, sparking a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead so far. The double veto could spell the end of the UN’s observer mission in Syria, which expires on Friday. The U.S. mission to the UN slammed Russia and China in a tweet for ‘preventing a credible [Security Council] response to the conflict.’” (Julian Pequet, “Russia, China Veto UN Sanctions Against Syria,” The Hill’s “Global Affairs” Blog, 7/19/12)

Obama Greeted Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez Warmly At The Summit Of The Americas In 2009. “Presidents Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez have met for the first time, shaking hands as the Summit of the Americas gets under way in Trinidad and Tobago. Photos released by the Venezuelan government show the two smiling and Obama touching Chavez on the shoulder. The Venezuelan presidency says Obama initiated the handshake. It quotes Chavez as telling Obama he hopes for better relations between their nations.” (Nick Sabloff, “Obama, Chavez Shake Hands At Summit,” The Huffington Post, 4/18/09)

• Chavez Gave The President A Book On American Imperialism That The President Called A “Nice Gesture.” “At one meeting, Chavez made a show of walking around the table as the cameras rolled and handing Obama a copy of ‘Open Veins of Latin America,’ a 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano chronicling U.S. and European imperialism in the region. … [Obama] said it ‘was a nice gesture to give me a book. I’m a reader.’” (Peter Nicholas, “Obama Defends Greeting Hugo Chavez,” Los Angeles Times, 4/20/09)