Democratic views on how President Joe Biden is handling the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians have rebounded slightly, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The shift occurred during a time in which Biden and top U.S. officials expressed increased concern about civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, emphasized the need for a future independent Palestinian state and helped secure the release of hostages held by Hamas during a temporary truce.
Fifty-nine percent of Democrats approve of Biden’s approach to the conflict, a tick up from 50% in November. His latest standing is roughly equivalent to Democrats’ 57% approval rating for him on the issue in an August poll, conducted well before the latest war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.
Still, the issue remains divisive among Democrats, who are less enthusiastic about Biden’s handling of the war than his overall job performance. Seventy-five percent of Democrats said Biden is doing well as president, also up slightly from 69% last month. His approval rating among U.S. adults stands at 41%.
Foreign Relations is like chess. You have to think several moves ahead. He could have seemed to be with Bibi until he could setup negotiations with Hamas. He had to get space to pressure Qatar to work on his behalf. He knows exactly who Bibi is and what he responds to. That is a much more likely scenario than “we changed his mind”.
Domestic politics is as major a consideration as geopolitics. Perhaps even moreso, as how much can you do if you’re not in office?
And we don’t need any additional routes towards negotiations with HAMAS. If the Qataris didn’t want to do it, we’d ask Erdogan.
Your goal in this scenario is making every feel good for an election or getting some hostages out? I think it’s a good thing that hostages won.
Erdogan expressed his distain for Isreal eary on. He wasn’t an alternative in any way.
It doesn’t matter. He’s a politician, he has to deal with hard reality, not how he wishes things could be. Erdogan is an ally, no matter how much we may dislike him sometimes. Elections are a reality, and people vote for what they like.
This is hard reality, where things are not simple or easy.
If Bibi is the biggest liar on the world stage, Erdogan is the biggest crackpot. Biden can perform better than any former President and still get junk poll numbers. He’s been around long enough that his last election probably doesn’t taste that sweet.
Erdogan has continually expressed his disdain for Greece over the past few years. Now he’s entirely changed his tune and is visiting Athens to reset relations.
Don’t take what politicians say too seriously.
What they do is less influenced by friendships, ideology, or morality. It’s mostly realpolitik, the national interest, or domestic political concerns, matter most and not much else.