Poll: Iowans like Iran nuclear deal more than they like Obama

DES MOINES - Despite almost three-to-one support for a negotiated nuclear agreement with Iran, voters in Iowa and three key swing states continue to give President Barack Obama negative job approval ratings.

By a 64 percent to 25 percent margin, Iowa voters favor a settlement between the U.S. and other nations and Iran, under which some sanctions against Iran would be lifted if Iran restricts its nuclear program, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Monday. The Quinnipiac poll found similar margins in Colorado - 67 to 26 percent - and Virginia - 64 to 26 percent.

While voters are ambivalent about any proposed nuclear deal with Iran, Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, said two-thirds like the idea of an agreement that would restrict Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting some sanctions.

'And by almost 5-1, voters prefer a diplomatic solution,” he said. 'Those numbers indicate support for President Barack Obama's efforts to sell the deal.”

However, support for a nuclear agreement doesn't spill over into support for Obama, now in the seventh year of his presidency.

In Iowa, Obama's approval rating has fallen from earlier this year, according to Quinnipiac. Only 40 percent of Iowans rate the president favorably while 56 give him a negative rating. That's down from 43 percent to 52 percent in February.

Obama's approval ratings in Colorado and Virginia were 42 to 55 percent and 45 to 53 percent, respectively, according to the poll.

By nearly double-digit margins in each of the swing states, voters told Quinnipiac the letter to Iran signed by 47 GOP senators was not appropriate. However, almost two-thirds said Congress must have the opportunity to approve or reject the deal, a position the president has yet to embrace, Brown said. The letter will hurt rather than help reach an agreement, according to 35 percent of the Iowans polled, while 49 percent said it will make no difference.

'Moreover, the electorate's mixed message includes the belief by five in eight voters in these states that the Iranians are incapable of negotiating in good faith, which could translate into public skepticism about the agreement,” he said. 'And President Obama's low job approval ratings raise the question of his ability to convince the public - and Congress - to see things his way.”

The results show that 91 percent said Iran is a threat to U.S. well-being. By a 74 to 16 percent margin Iowans prefer a negotiations over military intervention to curb Iran's nuclear program, which. At the same time, by a 61 to 26 percent margin, they said that Iran is not capable of negotiating in good faith.

Quinnipiac called landlines and cellphones to poll 948 Iowans between March 29 and April 7. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percent.

For more, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.