Depending on who you ask, President Obama is either brilliant or “lucky” in regards to how the situation is Syria played out, but a new Pew poll shows that a plurality of Americans believe the president displayed leadership by not rushing into war.
Overall, more Americans (49%) say that in handling the situation in Syria, Obama has shown leadership and a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. Fewer (35%) say he’s shown weakness and inconsistency. Far more Democrats (72%) than Republicans (26%) or independents (46%) say Obama has shown leadership in dealing with Syria.
For a frame of reference, the 35 percent who believe the president has shown weakness or inconsistency is also roughly the same number of people who believe George W. Bush was a great president. It’s also 2 percent lower than the number of people who believe global warming is a hoax.
If it wasn’t already clear, I believe the president’s threat of force was the right move in a situation where simply asking nicely wasn’t going to cut it. I also believe saying that the president was just “lucky” is offensive and ignorant and smacks of Beltway punditry.