When he addresses the nation on Tuesday evening, President Obama will have to prove to a wary public that when it comes to Syria, he knows what he's doing.
According to MSNBC, in a poll created by NBC News-The Wall Street Journal, many Americans are not convinced the commander-in-chief is competently addressing the crisis in Syria between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and rebels. The skepticism over Obama's handling of Syria has also had an effect on the public's support of intervention.
Despite the president's intense PR campaign on the issue, opposition to military action in Syria has increased in recent weeks, as support for limited strikes using cruise missiles dropped to 44%–a six-point drop from last month, and 47% say a strike is not in the United States' national interest, a 14-point increase since last month.
Should Congress vote to authorize the strikes, only 36% support Obama going ahead with the mission. Further, 59% would oppose action without Congressional approval. President Obamatold NBC's Savannah Guthrie in an interview on Monday that he has not yet decided what he would do if Congress rejected the resolution for action.
Only 28% approve of President Obama's handling of the situation in Syria, down 7 points from August.
In related news, Syria confirmed that it would be open to handing over its chemical weapons, according to NBC News. An attack on rebels with the use of chemical weapons is what prompted President Obama to request approval for a military air strike. He is scheduled to speak Tuesday at 9:01 in the East Room, according to MSNBC.
Read more at MSNBC and NBC News.
Jozen Cummings is the author and creator of the popular relationship blog Until I Get Married, which is currently in development for a television series with Warner Bros. He also hosts a weekly podcast with WNYC about Empire called Empire Afterparty, is a contributor at VerySmartBrothas.com and works at Twitter as an editorial curator. Follow him on Twitter.