Poll: Post-Mubarak Egypt More Anti-American

National Journal reports:

Hopes for regional stability in a new Egypt are muted in the latest Pew research poll, which found just over half of Egyptians surveyed favor annulling the country's peace treaty with Israel. The White House also comes under criticism for its handling of anti-government movements in the Arab world.

Fifty-four percent of Egyptians questioned for the Pew Global Attitudes Project want the peace treaty signed in 1979 canceled. Only 36 percent want it maintained. Opposition to the accord is strongest among the poor and less educated.

Anti-Americanism has only gone up: 79 percent of those surveyed say they have an unfavorable opinion of the United States, and 49 percent of those hold that sentiment intensely. There was a 9-percentage-point increase since spring 2009.

President Obama doesn't fare much better. Two in three (64 percent) Egyptians have little or no confidence in him, a 5-point increase in his negative rating since last year.

Current anti-Americanism and anti-Obama sentiment in Egypt predated this year’s Arab Spring. But Washington’s handling of the recent democratic upheaval in the Middle East did little to improve the U.S. standing.

When Pew asked about the American response to the political situation in Egypt, a plurality (39 percent) of Egyptians said the U.S. has had a negative impact, while just 22 percent said it has had a positive effect. Moreover, half (52 percent) of Egyptians disapprove of how Obama is dealing with the calls for political change in nations such as Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Libya. And a plurality of those who disapprove say Obama has shown too little support for protesters in the Arab street who are calling for change.

Given this sentiment, it is little wonder only one in six (15 percent) Egyptians want closer ties with the United States and 43 percent want a more distant relationship.

But the White House and the State Department can point to some support among younger and better-educated Egyptians. Half of those under age 30 (51 percent) and those with a college education (52 percent) give Obama a positive grade for his handling of calls for change in the Middle East.