Poll: Most Want U.S. Out of Egypt's Affairs

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Two in three Americans believe the United States should stay out of Egypt's affairs in the wake of the uprising that led to the fall of U.S.-backed leader Hosni Mubarak, according to a new CBS News poll.

Just 26 percent say the United States should help Egypt make Democratic reforms.

A majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents all say America should stay out of Egyptian affairs - and that the United States does not have a responsibility to promote democracy in other countries.

Americans are split on whether Egypt will become a stable democracy within the next year. Forty-five percent say it is somewhat likely, and another seven percent call it very likely. But 41 percent say democracy is not very or not at all likely.

President Obama gets a net positive rating for his handling of the crisis, with 50 percent overall approving of his performance and 22 percent disapproving. Twenty-eight percent don't know. Only Republicans give him a net negative rating.

Some have warned that the fall of Mubarak may be bad for the United States because the regime that replaces him will adopt a more antagonistic posture. The poll shows that Americans share those concerns: 42 percent are somewhat concerned about an unfriendly regime, and 27 percent are very concerned. Just 28 percent are largely unconcerned. Republicans are more likely than Democrats or independents to express such concerns.

Americans have mixed feelings about the implications of the Egyptian events for the Middle East: 43 percent say the events have made them more optimistic about the region's future, while 38 percent say they have made them less optimistic. More than three quarters say it is at least somewhat likely that uprisings for democracy will spread to other nations.

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Full CBS News Poll

This poll was conducted by telephone on February 11-14, 2011 among 1031 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.