Pirate's Cove

Obviously, CNN tries to spin away the results that aren’t supporting The Precious

A majority of Americans want Congress to reject the recently-negotiated nuclear deal with Iran, even as President Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to stand in net-positive territory for the second month in a row, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

The new CNN/ORC poll finds 49% approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 47% disapprove, about the same as in a June survey, which found the President’s approval rating at 50% for the first time since 2013. But on the President’s biggest accomplishment since then — the nuclear agreement reached between the U.S., its allies and Iran — most say they would like to see Congress reject it. Overall, 52% say Congress should reject the deal, 44% say it should be approved.

Some opposition to the deal may be fueled by skepticism. A CNN/ORC poll in late June, conducted as the deal was being worked out, found that nearly two-thirds of adults thought it was unlikely the negotiations would result in an agreement that would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Some support of the deal may be fueled by Lefties wanting to support The Precious over the security of the United States.

The new poll finds a sharp partisan gap on whether Congress should approve the deal, with 66% of Republicans and 55% of independents saying Congress ought to reject it and 61% of Democrats saying it should be approved. Younger adults, who tend to lean more Democratic, are more apt to favor the deal: 53% of those age 18-34 say approve it, while 56% of those age 35 or older say reject it. There is also an education divide on the deal, with 53% of college graduates saying the deal should be approved, while just 37% of those with a high school degree or less formal education saying they think it should be approved.

So, the takeaway is that those who have more experience, more world knowledge, know better, and think the deal should be scuttled.

Read: CNN Poll Finds 52% Want Iran Deal Defeated »

Mr. Obama has been running around using his typical type strawman, namely that we have a choice between this really bad deal that gives the house away to Iran or war. Former Ambassador John Bolton writes in the LA Times that the deal actually makes war with Iran more likely

President Obama has made an art form of attacking his opponents rather than substantively defending his own policies, most recently regarding the Vienna agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Essentially, Obama argues that we must either accept his wretched deal or go to war to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

As is typical, Obama posits the wrong choice, apparently to distract from the unpleasant reality that the agreement won’t work. It will not prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. So the real choice we are faced with is dealing with the consequences of military action or the consequences of a nuclear Iran. Neither is palatable, but the latter is far worse. If the real objective is stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, preemptive military action is now inescapable.

Obviously, we all hope not. But, as Mr. Bolton notes, Iran has been cheating and blowing off sanctions for 30 years. What makes anyone think they will stop now? And, this “deal” only limits them for 8-10 years, at which point they can immediately resume all overt attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. What do we do when it is abundantly clear that they are developing a nuclear weapon, that they are close, and/or have already built them? Throw up our hands? Obama will be long out of office at that point. Will he blame himself? Will Democrats blame themselves, at least those who back this deal?

And, again, Liberals need to ask themselves: if this deal came from a Republican administration, would they be backing it, or would they look and say “holy cow, this a bad deal!”?

Some critics of Obama’s plan advocate scuttling the deal and increasing economic sanctions against Iran instead. They are dreaming. Iran and the United States’ negotiating partners have already signed the accords and are straining at their leashes to implement them. There will be no other “better deal.” Arguments about what Obama squandered or surrendered along the way are therefore fruitless. As for sanctions, they were already too weak to prevent Iran’s progress toward the bomb, and they will not be reset now. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, “These sanctions are going boys, and they ain’t coming back.”

That point stands on its own.

If diplomacy and sanctions have failed to stop Iran, diplomacy alone will fail worse. Like it or not, we now face this unpleasant reality: Iran probably will violate the deal; it may not be detected doing so and if detected, it will not be deterred by “snapback” sanctions. So we return to the hard question: Are we prepared to do what will be necessary to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons?

Will we have the willpower? Will the “international community” of which Obama speaks so much about?

American weakness has brought us to this difficult moment. While we obsessed about its economic discomfort, Iran wore its duress with pride. It was never an even match. We now have to rely on a tiny ally to do the job for us. But unless we are ready to accept a nuclear Iran (and, in relatively short order, several other nuclear Middle Eastern states), get ready. The easy ways out disappeared long ago.

Obama had long talked about having discussions with Iran with no preconditions. Well, Iran had lots of conditions, and they won. Make sure to read the entire piece in full.

Read: John Bolton: Obama’s Iran Deal Will Lead To War »