- The Washington Times - Thursday, August 21, 2014

Fewer than half of Americans are satisfied with President Obama’s handling of violent confrontations between protestors and police in Ferguson, Missouri, following the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police, according to a new poll released Thursday.

Just 41 percent of Americans said they were satisfied and 34 percent were dissatisfied with Mr. Obama’s response to the 11 days of violence in the streets of Ferguson after a white police officer fatally shot Michael Brown, 18, who was unarmed, the CBS/New York Times poll said.

About 25 percent of respondents in the poll didn’t have an opinion.

Mr. Obama’s strong support among black voters held throughout the crisis, with 60 percent of African-Americans saying they are satisfied with the president’s actions, the poll said.

The pollsters noted that Mr. Obama’s response to the racial unrest in Ferguson is viewed less negatively than President George H.W. Bush’s response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the police beating of black motorist Rodney King, which was caught on videotape.

During the Los Angeles riots, polls showed that 46 percent of voters were dissatisfied with Mr. Bush’s response.

• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.

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