HUFFPOLLSTER: Americans Support Granting Obama Military Authorization On ISIS

A majority of Americans support giving Obama authorization to use force against ISIS. Voters think Scott Walker would make a better president than Jeb Bush. And Christie’s support sinks in New Jersey. This is HuffPollster for Friday, February 13, 2015.

A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT AUTHORIZATION OF FORCE AGAINST ISIS -Mark Murray: “A majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s proposed authorization to use force against ISISā€¦[Fifty-four] percent of Americans say they want their member of Congress to vote for this authorization. This includes a majority of Democrats (60 percent), Republicans (52 percent) and independents (51 percent). Just 32 percent of all respondents want their member of Congress to vote against such an authorization. But confidence in Obama’s strategy to combat ISIS is mixed – with 45 percent having a “great deal” or a “good amount” of confidence, versus 48 percent who have little to no confidenceā€¦ [A] plurality of respondents prefer sending a limited number of U.S. forces to combat ISIS (40 percent), versus a large number (26 percent) or no ground forces at all (26 percent)…And Americans are divided over whether President Obama will be remembered more for ending a war (40 percent) or starting a new one (44 percent).” [NBC]

FOX NEWS POLL ‘GRADES’ 2016 FIELD – Dana Blanton: “The latest Fox News poll asks voters to grade a number of potential contenders based on how well they think they would do as president. Comparing letter grades — like you get in school — gives a different take than hypothetical voting. And there are some surprises….Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is at the head of the class on the Republican side, outpacing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — the current frontrunner in most national GOP primary polls. Grade averages are calculated among just those respondents who are familiar with the candidate. Despite being less well-known, Walker scores better grades because he has a higher ratio of people who know him giving him good grades. Self-identified Republicans who are familiar with the candidates give Walker an average grade of B (2.75 GPA), while grading the potential of both retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (2.62) and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (2.48), just a notch lower at B-.” [Fox News]

Christie gets a ‘C’ – More from Fox: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie trails with a C average (1.90) among Republicans — and has the added distinction of having the most Republicans assigning him a failing grade (13 percent).”

-Seventy- two percent of Israelis do not trust Obama on Iran. [The Blaze]

-Only 1 in 3 British adults believes in God. [YouGov]

-Harry Enten thinks the media has made too much of Jon Stewart’s retirement. [538]

The Huffington Post