As the president prepares to make his case in a nationally televised address, the survey found that opposition to intervention in Syria largely transcends the partisan, racial, age, and regional boundaries that fracture the public on almost all other major issues.
Not only do solid majorities of Republicans and independents oppose the use of force against Syria but so does a strong plurality of Democrats, according to the poll. Only a meager 13 percent of those polled–including just one-fifth of Democrats–say Obama should strike Syria anyway if Congress does not approve.
On the broadest question, the survey noted that “the Obama administration has concluded that the government of Syria used chemical weapons, including nerve gas, to kill over 1,400 civilians last month” and asked respondents how the U.S. should respond. A solid 55 percent majority said the U.S. should “do nothing and stay out of the Syrian civil war.” Just 21 percent endorsed the option Obama prefers: launching “a limited military strike, using only air power, to punish the Syrian government for using chemical weapons.”
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