PoliticsSyriaPolitics Obama Syria

Americans Think Putin Has Been More Effective Than Obama On Syria

Poll: Putin More Effective Than Obama On Syria
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By 

Senior Reporter and Polling Editor, HuffPost

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President Barack Obama gets lower marks for his effectiveness on Syria than does Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to an online Economist/YouGov poll.

Just 25 percent of respondents picked Obama as the most effective world leader during the Syrian chemical weapons crisis, while 49 percent named Vladimir Putin.

In a separate question, 44 percent named Obama as the least effective leader. That ranks him last among a list that included Putin, UK prime minister David Cameron, French president Francois Hollande, Syrian president Bashar Assad, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon -- results that likely reflect Americans' disapproval of Obama, rather than plaudits for or recognition of the other men.

Other polls have shown Americans are deeply skeptical of Obama's approach in Syria. A CBS/New York Times poll released Wednesday revealed just 37 percent approved of his handling of the Syrian crisis. His overall approval ratings on foreign policy, formerly a political strength for him, have dropped significantly as well in recent months.

The Economist/YouGov poll showed that many Americans have little faith in Syria as well. Just 23 percent of respondents thought the Syrian government would surrender its chemical weapons stockpile, and only 14 percent thought that Syria was negotiating in good faith.

The poll was conducted Sept. 21-23 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance.

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Before You Go

Here's What Politicians Have Said About Syria
Susan Rice(01 of09)
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"All of this is horrific. All of us as human beings feel terrible when we see the extraordinary loss of life that [has] occurred in Syria," Rice said. "With chemical weapons, they can kill with indiscriminate abandon. People who are innocent are employed in conflict. It is of a greater magnitude because if terrorists get ahold of those weapons, if other dictators get ahold of those weapons, they can be used on a massive scale." (credit:AP)
John Boehner(02 of09)
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"We have enemies around the world that need to understand that we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior." (credit:Getty)
John McCain(03 of09)
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"I am against delaying reaction to what is a massacre of a thousand people," McCain said. "You saw these pictures of these dead children. Come on. This is horrific. We can't stand by and watch this happen." (credit:Getty)
John Kerry(04 of09)
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"This is what Assad did to his own people," Kerry said. If the U.S. allowed "a thug and a murderer like Bashar al-Assad" to get away with gassing his own people, he added, "there will be no end to the test of our resolve and the dangers that will flow from those others who believe that they can do as they will." (credit:Getty)
Rand Paul(05 of09)
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"I think the Islamic rebels winning is a bad idea for the Christians, and all of a sudden we'll have another Islamic state where Christians are persecuted," Paul said. (credit:Getty)
Sarah Palin(06 of09)
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"As I said before, if we are dangerously uncertain of the outcome and are led into war by a Commander-in-chief who can’t recognize that this conflict is pitting Islamic extremists against an authoritarian regime with both sides shouting 'Allah Akbar' at each other, then let Allah sort it out," Palin continued. (credit:Getty)
Ted Cruz(07 of09)
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“We should be focused on defending the United States of America. That’s why young men and women sign up to join the military, not to, as you know, serve as Al Qaeda’s air force.” (credit:Getty)
Barack Obama(08 of09)
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"This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious danger to our national security. It risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm. "In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted." (credit:Getty)
Bob Menendez(09 of09)
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"Assad has made a calculation now ... that he can use chemical weapons, or he believes he can use chemical weapons without consequence," Menendez said. "And in doing so there is a global message that in fact other state actors and other non-state actors may believe they can do so as well." (credit:Getty)
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