Romney’s Libya Response May Have Done Real Damage

Benjy Sarlin

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A Monmouth Universitysurvey released Monday indicated that 90 percent of respondents were familiar with the crises in Libya and Egypt, including 61 percent who had heard “a lot” about it. Among likely voters, Obama got positive marks for his handling of the situation from 39 percent of respondents and negative marks from 27 percent. But only 25 percent approved of Romney’s behavior during the same period versus 29 percent who disapproved.

“If the past week was Mitt Romney’s opportunity to show how he would handle a foreign crisis, the GOP nominee did not put his best foot forward as far as voters are concerned,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a press release.

Another poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & Press, also released Monday, found that 43 percent of respondents followed the Mideast news “very closely” last week, more than the 42 percent who said they followed the presidential campaign with the same intensity. Obama earned high marks among those who paid close attention to the attacks: 45 percent approved of his handling of the situation, versus 36 percent who disapproved. Twenty-six percent approved of Romney’s response, versus 48 percent who disapproved.

On a state level, Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found that 48 percent of Virginia voters disapproved of Romney’s reaction to the Libya crisis, and 41 percent approved.

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http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/romneys-libya-remarks-may-have-done-real-damage.php

Romney's Libya comments landed with a thud: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was the loser in a political fight over U.S. reaction to attacks last week on American diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday.

Four in 10 U.S. voters felt less favorably toward Romney after hearing about his criticism of President Barack Obama's handling of the attacks in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya was killed.

Only 26 percent of the registered voters polled felt worse about Obama after hearing about the Democrat's comments about the violence in the Middle East, the survey said.

"Romney probably did not do anything to shore up his foreign policy cred on this particular issue," Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said, but she noted that foreign policy was typically low on lists of the issues most important to American voters.

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http://news.yahoo.com/romneys-libya-comments-landed-thud-reuters-ipsos-poll-213131712.html