Monday
Jun212010
Obama's Approval Ratings High In Europe, Low Among Muslim Countries
Monday, June 21, 2010 at 2:41PM
By Brandon Kosters
Talk Radio News Service
Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center, told reporters on Monday that a recent survey done by his organization found that European nations possess a fairly favorable view of the United States and President Barack Obama.
"In many respects, [Obama] is more popular overseas than he is in the United States," said Kohut, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in downtown Washington, D.C. The U.S., he added, is generally more popular globally than it was during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Kohut said 24,000 interviews were conducted with residents from 22 nations between April 7 and May 8, 2010.
According to the poll, the U.S.'s favorability rating in France is 73%. A similar poll taken in 2008 found that that number to be just 42%. Moreover, 84% of those polled in France said they support Mr. Obama's policies. "Only the Kenyans gave Obama a better rating then did Western Europeans," he said, adding that Western Europeans generally expressed positive views about Obama's economic policies.
Yet, approval ratings among predominantly Muslim countries were quite low, due to many expressing disappointment with how Obama has handled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, said Kohut, President Obama's approval rating in Egypt is currently 17%, the lowest it has ever been there.
The Pew survey also found that approval ratings in Mexico have dropped sharply, a fact Kohut attributed to the recent illegal immigration law that was passed in the state of Arizona.
Talk Radio News Service
Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center, told reporters on Monday that a recent survey done by his organization found that European nations possess a fairly favorable view of the United States and President Barack Obama.
"In many respects, [Obama] is more popular overseas than he is in the United States," said Kohut, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in downtown Washington, D.C. The U.S., he added, is generally more popular globally than it was during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Kohut said 24,000 interviews were conducted with residents from 22 nations between April 7 and May 8, 2010.
According to the poll, the U.S.'s favorability rating in France is 73%. A similar poll taken in 2008 found that that number to be just 42%. Moreover, 84% of those polled in France said they support Mr. Obama's policies. "Only the Kenyans gave Obama a better rating then did Western Europeans," he said, adding that Western Europeans generally expressed positive views about Obama's economic policies.
Yet, approval ratings among predominantly Muslim countries were quite low, due to many expressing disappointment with how Obama has handled the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, said Kohut, President Obama's approval rating in Egypt is currently 17%, the lowest it has ever been there.
The Pew survey also found that approval ratings in Mexico have dropped sharply, a fact Kohut attributed to the recent illegal immigration law that was passed in the state of Arizona.
Reader Comments (5)
You must be joking - I thought that the Muslims would love having a Muslim Marxist as the President of the United States. He sure is losing support by true Americans once we discovered his ideology of a f...ing communist!!!!!!
To AllAcrossAmerica:
Please read up on some history before calling Obama Communist. You obvious do not know what real communism is and did to countries like China in the past.
Why should an American care if the French like us. Do the French worry if Americans like them?
maybe muslim people actually listened to obama when he promised to pull out troops in iraq by 16 months.
its not about his ideology, whether he is a corporate capitalist or a communist or whatever. its about what he promises and what he does (for that matter, i'd approve of someone whose ideology is far more different than mine and does the good things he promises than someone who is ideologically more similar to me and lies. Westerners just do not seem to get this and up thinking politics is like sports with ideology being a team)
Coming from an ex member of the US armed forces...nothing has made me more proud than serving this great nation. However, the only thing that makes me more proud than that, is knowing my final days in the military were served under President Bush and not one single second of my career was ever under President Hussein. I am appalled at all you pathetic people who call yourselves "True Americans", who put this corrupt, non-American in power who has done nothing for our country except destroy it. How dare any of you even think you have the right to bash our country and former leader, only to put the worst President we have ever had or will ever have in power. I served this great nation proudly. I carried the remains of former president, Ronald W. Reagan...one of the greatest Presidents this country will ever have the honor of being lead by, and I am positive he is looking down on a country he lead and tried to bring closer among one another...and is a absolutely disgusted at what he sees. I love my country and I served it with honor and respect. I would die for it as many of my family member and friends have done already, but ANY of you who stands behind this shameful, and pathetic President we have now...rest assured, you are not any bit of a true American and you truly make me sick. For all the rest of you...may God bless you and may God bless the United States and all of its proud soldiers!