Poll: 6 in 10 Say United States at War with 'Radical Islam', Repudiating President Obama and Hillary Clinton

That's one of the major findings in this new blockbuster Washington Post/ABC News poll.

See, "Americans more fearful of a major terror attack in the U.S., poll finds." The raw internals are here:

Fears among Americans about terrorist attacks on U.S. soil have risen sharply a week after a major assault in Paris killed 130, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, which finds a majority believing that the country is at war with “radical Islam.”

Fully 83 percent of registered voters say they believe a terrorist attack in the United States resulting in large casualties is likely in the near future, rising from 73 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month asking the same question. Forty percent say a major attack in the United States is “very likely,” up eight percentage points since last week’s attacks to match the record level of concern recorded after the 2005 subway bombings in Britain.

The Post-ABC poll finds a majority of Americans want the United States to join a military response to the Paris attacks, including increasing airstrikes and sending ground troops to fight the Islamic State, which asserted responsibility for last week’s mayhem.

But the poll also finds evidence of the public hesitation about a major military commitment, with more saying the United States should play a supporting role, and only one-third of all respondents supporting deployment of large numbers of ground forces.

The findings underscore the heightened anxiety many Americans feel after the Paris attacks, as well as a broader dissatisfaction with President Obama’s approach to terrorism. They come as the House voted Thursday by a large majority — 289 to 137 — to restrict Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the United States, despite a White House veto threat, and as several Republican presidential candidates are urging stricter control on admitting refugees and a deeper military involvement overseas. The poll found over half of adults oppose accepting refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, even if they are screened for security.

Rather than rally around the commander in chief, the public’s ratings of Obama on dealing with terrorism have fallen to a record low 40 percent, with a smaller 35 percent approving of his handling of the Islamic State. Obama’s ratings on terrorism have fallen seven points since January, driven largely by a 20-point drop among political independents and an 11-point drop among moderates.

Ken Kaas, a 50-year-old heavy-equipment operator in Pottstown, Pa., described the president’s approach in a single word: “horrible.”

“I just think he’s just politically correct, doesn’t want to ruffle feathers and is not a strong leader,” said Kaas, a Republican, who added that he preferred the strategy espoused by many GOP presidential candidates. “They’re stronger, and they seem to be more caring of Americans and our cause, as opposed to trying to appease the world.”

The Paris attacks also appear to have bolstered public support for circumventing civil liberties to pursue potential terrorists. A 72 percent majority say the federal government should investigate possible terrorist threats even if they intrude on personal privacy, rising nine percentage points since January to the highest level since 2010....

Fifty-nine percent of respondents say the United States is “at war with radical Islam,” while 37 percent say it is not. Republicans have embraced the term and criticized President Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for not using it. Clinton, who is running for president, says “radical Islam” wrongly conflates Islamist jihadists with the teachings of Islam and Muslims more broadly, but fellow partisans do not appear to have such reservations. Fifty-two percent of Democrats say the nation is at war with radical Islam.

Sixty percent support sending more ground troops to defeat Islamic State. That's a really striking figure, considering the intense opposition we've had to Middle East ground deployments this last few years.



Americans have had it with this administration on national security, and it's going to hurt the Democrats. Independents and moderates have swung sharply against Obama in his handing of the terrorist threat. A shrewd GOP nominee will be able to eviscerate Hillary Clinton on the issues next year, and the field seems to be narrowing down to Trump and Rubio as the front-runners. Carson's fading.

More at the link.