Andrew Sullivan links to a poll on U.S. public opinion, which finds that 43 percent of Americans believe that the level of support President Obama has provided for Iranian demonstrators has been "about right," while 35 percent believe he has not been aggressive enough. Sullivan claims that this poll demonstrates there's "no reason for tough talk." Putting aside the fact that an eight point spread isn't actually that dramatic -- and that the poll was presumably conducted before the IRGC and Basij began murdering people in cold blood on YouTube -- does Sullivan really think that the President of the United States should be guided by polling data on so sensitive and complex a foreign policy question as Iran?
It's worth remembering, on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, a substantial majority of Americans were in support of going to war to remove the threat from Saddam. Presumably Sullivan, in hindsight, thinks this was a mistake -- although he of course was an early and enthusiastic cheerleader for the invasion at the time. Likewise, a solid majority of Americans were opposed to the surge when President Bush announced it in January 2007. Presumably Sullivan, in hindsight, accepts that the vox populi got this one wrong too -- as did he, incidentally.
There are many sober and serious arguments that defenders of the president's approach to the Iranian demonstrations can put forward. The fact that U.S. public opinion narrowly backs him isn't one of them. A suggestion for Scott Rasmussen though: How about a poll asking Americans whether they would invite an Iranian diplomat to their own Fourth of July barbecue -- and whether they want the President of the United States to issue such an invitation in their names.
