U.S. service members give President Obama a much less favorable rating than their civilian counterparts, according to a new poll released yesterday by the Military Times and Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
As Kyle Feldsher noted this morning, Obama got 36 percent favorability, among service members and is viewed as “very” or “somewhat” unfavorable by 52 percent.
But then, there’s the question of why. Service members are divided on various initiatives by Obama. On balance (four-to-three in favor), they view the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” as a good thing, but they frown upon mixed-gender combat units (two-to-one against) and transgender service members (more than three-to-one against). This is the kind of “political correctness” introduced into the military by Obama that some have argued comes at the expense of military readiness.
Obama does far worse among the enlisted (17 points net unfavorable) than he does among officers (5 points net unfavorable). He also does far better among Navy personnel (only 2 points net unfavorable) than he does with any other service branch.
The Marines dislike Obama the most, with a staggering 60 percent viewing him unfavorably and only 26 percent favorably.
Service members have somewhat warmer feelings toward President-elect Trump, the poll suggests. Forty-nine percent of those who voted say they voted for him, and 46 percent view him favorably, compared to 37 percent who view him unfavorably.
