Latest from The Green Box

Friday 3rd July 2009 | 05:44

Majority of Americans believe Obama has struck the right tone on Iran

Split on whether he should have spoken out sooner

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the June 12th Iranian presidential election, opposition supporters hit the streets in protest, claiming that the election was rigged and demanding a re-count or a re-vote.  President Obama stayed relatively mum on the situation, saying that the United States should not insert itself into domestic Iranian politics, and cautioning against the use of violence by the authorities. However, after the Iranian government began a brutal crackdown on the protesters, the president adopted a tougher tone, saying he was "appalled and outraged" by the violence against the demonstrators.  

According to a new PoliticsHome poll, 58% of Americans believe that the president has generally struck the right tone with regard to the situation in Iran, while only 29% believe he has struck the wrong tone.  

The president received strong support on this from fellow Democrats, 89% of whom believe that his response has been the right one.  57% of Independents also agree, but only 14% of Republicans.

\

Though his overall tone may be viewed as generally correct, Americans are split over the timing of the president’s condemnation of the Iranian regime.  42% believe President Obama should have condemned the regime earlier, and 48% believe he condemned the regime at the right time.  

With many Republicans in the media criticizing the president for not being tougher on Iran sooner, and many Democrats coming to the president’s defense on waiting, this has become another issue that shows a wide partisan divide.  85% of Republicans think President Obama should have spoken out sooner, and 79% of Democrats believe his sterner criticism was appropriately timed. Independents split down the middle on the issue.  

Only 6% of respondents feel that the President should not have condemned the regime at all.

Americans believe US should stand for freedom and democracy

Just over one quarter of respondents (26%) believe that a strong argument for not taking a tougher stance is that it could “damage future relations/negotiation with the Iranian regime.”