Poll: Americans worried about Mideast involvement

[ECH1969]

Do Americans want the United States to play an active role in trying to resolve the conflict? The answer is no. Sixty-five percent want the United States to stay out of it.

A solid majority -- 57 percent -- say they sympathize with Israel. Only 4 percent sympathize with Hezbollah. But a lot of Americans -- 39 percent -- say they don't sympathize with one side over the other.

Do Americans believe Israel has gone too far in its military response to Hezbollah's provocations? No. Fewer than a third of Americans (31 percent) feel Israel's military action has been disproportionate. Nearly half say Israel's response has been about right (35 percent) or hasn't gone far enough (14 percent).

House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, told reporters, "This administration is not good on evacuations, as people in Katrina found out." But the public sees a big difference. Last September, 63 percent of Americans thought the Katrina evacuation was handled poorly. Only 29 percent feel that way about the Lebanon evacuation.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/20/schneider.poll/index.html