Polling the United Nations

Several new polls have been released surveying U.S. attitudes on the United Nations. First, Rasmussen:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 29% of voters see the United Nations as an ally of the United States, while 15% regard the international organization as an enemy. For 47%, the U.S. falls somewhere in between the two...

As is often the case, the partisan and ideological divide is notable. Forty-six percent (46%) of Democrats view the U.N. as an ally, a view shared by just 17% of Republicans and 22% of voters not affiliated with either party. Fifty-four percent (54%) of liberals agree, while 26% of conservatives say the U.N. is an enemy of America.

But 63% of all voters say the United States should continue to participate in the United Nations, compared to 60% in April and 66% in March. Twenty percent (20%) say America should not be part of the U.N., and 17% are undecided.

A 25-nation Pew Global Attitudes survey, conducted in May and June of this year, found largely positive views toward the U.N. with majorities or pluralities in 19 of the 25 countries expressing a positive opinion. Moreover, ratings of the U.N. have grown more positive since 2007 in 12 of the 25 nations.

Europeans overwhelmingly give the U.N. favorable reviews. More than seven-in-ten in France (74%) and Poland (72%) offer a favorable opinion, as do majorities in Britain (67%), Germany (65%), Spain (61%) and Russia (56%).

The organization is also widely popular in the two African countries surveyed, Kenya (76% favorable) and Nigeria (71%), and to a lesser extent in two of the three Latin American nations included, Mexico (58%) and Brazil (52%). In Argentina, however, nearly half (45%) offer no opinion.

(AP Photos)