55% Say America's Allies Should Do What We Want More Often

Many people believe the United States and its allies should cooperate more, and a solid majority of U.S. voters still think that the better way for that to happen is for America's allies to follow our lead.  

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters say it would be better for our allies to do what the United States wants more often rather than vice versa.  Only 12% feel the United States should do what our allies want more often, while 27% favor neither course.  (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

In 2007 and 2008, the number of voters who felt the United States should do what our allies want more often ranged from 21% to 34%.  In January 2009, this number dropped to 15% and has remained at that level or lower ever since.  At the same time, the number of voters who believe our allies should follow our lead has risen from the low 40s in late 2006 to the mid- to upper 50s over the past year.

However, voters feel President Obama has a slightly different view. Forty-three percent (43%) believe the president thinks it’s better if our allies to do what the United States wants more often.  Twenty-four percent (24%) feel the president would prefer if America more often did want its allies want, while 25% say he believes neither is better.  Although a majority of voters have said for months that it would be better if our allies did what America wants more often, just a plurality of voters have felt since late April 2009 that the president agrees. 

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The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on February 16-17, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.