Americans Believe U.S. Has Lost Respect At Home And Abroad

by Ben Bullard 
The second-term slide of President Barack Obama continues to mirror that of his Republican predecessor. The latest parallel between the faltering Obama Administration and the rocky second term of George W. Bush comes courtesy of a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center.
Released Tuesday, the poll finds a majority of Americans believe that, under Obama, the United States is experiencing a loss of international prestige that closely mimics a similar dip in confidence about America’s place in the world during Bush’s second term.
According to Pew, 70 percent of Americans believe the U.S. has lost the respect of the international community compared with its status a decade ago, a number nearly as high as the results of a similar poll conducted during the Bush era.

In addition, the poll shows that 53 percent of Americans think America’s role as a leader in world affairs has diminished over the last ten years. That’s the lowest statistical ebb of Americans’ confidence in their leaders’ diplomacy in three decades. And 56 percent of Americans said they disapprove of the diplomatic strategy of Obama in particular; 52 percent said they felt the U.S. should “mind its own business” in world affairs. By contrast, only 31 percent said the ongoing American presence in Afghanistan has made the U.S. safer from terrorist threats.
Check out a video synopsis of the poll’s key findings below.