I thought this survey by the Pew Research Center was interesting. It was done between August 20th and 24th of a random national survey of 1,501 adults, and has a margin of error of 2.9 points. The interesting part was just how much public opinion has changed in just one year (2013 to 2014).
In 2013, significant majorities or pluralities of the general public and all three political entities said the United States was doing too much to solve the world's problems. But that view has dropped significantly in 2014 -- 12 points in the general public, 15 points among Republicans, 10 points among Democrats, and 10 points among Independents. And those saying the United States is not doing enough has grown in the last year -- 14 points among the general public, 19 points among Republicans, 9 points among Democrats, and 10 points among Independents.
Those are huge shifts in opinion for a single year, and make me wonder just what is driving this change of attitude. Is the unexpected success of the ISIS rebels the primary cause? Have the problems in the Ukraine contributed to this change in attitude? Especially puzzling for me is the change among Republicans. Last year a majority of 52% said President Obama was doing too much on the international stage, but this year a Plurality of 46% say he is doing too little.
The chart below is from that same survey. It seems the general public, Independents, and Republicans (especially teabagger Republicans) think the United States' importance as a world leader has been diminished over the last 10 years. Only the Democrats disagree (with a plurality of 46% saying the importance of the U.S. remains about the same as it was 10 years ago).