Seventy-five percent (75%) of voters nationwide agree that “The United States should not commit its forces to military action overseas unless the cause is vital to our national interest.” A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that only 12% of voters disagree while 13% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

That was the first point in “a set of principles to guide America in the application of military force” that Reagan recommended to future presidents in his autobiography.

By an even larger 79% to 9% margin, voters believe that when the president sends troops into military action there should always be a clear intent to win with clearly defined and realistic objectives. That was Reagan’s second guiding point, designed to avoid a “halfway or tentative commitment.”