Public Sizes Up Obama's National Security Potential

Rasmussen Reports takes a look at what people expect from Obama in the arena of national security:

With President-elect Barack Obama already facing challenges from aboard, nearly half of voters (47%) say he will do a good or excellent job handling national security issues.

While 30% say he will do an excellent job, 34% expect the Democrat to do a poor job on national security, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Thursday night.

Of course, the partisan break-out is sharper:

Not surprisingly, Republicans are not convinced Obama will handle national security issues successfully, with just 15% who say he will do a good or excellent job. Sixty percent (60%) of Republicans say he will do a poor job. By contrast, 55% of Democrats say he will do an excellent job handling national security matters, and another 23% expect him to do a good job. Forty percent (40%) of unaffiliated voters think Obama will do a good or excellent job versus 36% who think he will perform poorly.

In other words, he's going into office with a decent degree of confidence among independents. Given the terrain he faces, that in and of itself should be heartening for an Obama administration.