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Monday 8th June 2009 | 10:00

President Obama’s Cairo speech struck the right tone

Americans think speech will help improve US-Muslim relations

President Obama delivered a highly anticipated address to the Muslim world last Thursday, in which he sought to mark "a new beginning" in US relations with Muslim countries. Though the speech was directed at a foreign Muslim audience, the president's speech played well in the domestic arena.  According to a new PoliticsHome poll, Americans agree that President Obama set the right tone with his remarks at Cairo University.  

61% of Americans feel that the right tone was set by the president, while only 25% thought the speech set the wrong tone.  Democrats overwhelmingly agree (91%) and a majority (61%) of Independents agree.  Republicans, on the other hand, disagreed. 58% believe the president set the wrong tone.

Republicans were also more skeptical about the premise of the speech itself.  When asked whether or not "a new beginning" in relations between the US and the Muslim world is necessary, 67% of Republicans disagreed. Democrats and Independents were far more willing to accept the idea.

Generally, Americans believe that the speech will have a positive impact on Muslim relations with the United States.  58% answered that the impact will be positive, while only 15% feel the impact will be negative.  23% believe that the speech will have no impact, a statistic mostly led by Republicans, 46% of whom do not believe the speech will have an impact at all. 23% of Independents also answered that the speech will likely have no impact on relations.

 

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