PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' trust in Washington, D.C., to handle international problems is up sharply compared with this time last year, and is now the highest in Gallup trends since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. Two-thirds of Americans say they have a "great deal" (18%) or "fair amount" (48%) of trust in the federal government when it comes to handling international problems, vs. 57% last September, whereas a third have "not very much" trust or "none at all."

The finding is from Gallup's Sept. 6-9 annual Governance poll, conducted nearly a year after the United States helped oust and kill Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, but before the deadly Sept. 11 raid on the U.S. consulate in that country that took the lives of several U.S. diplomatic staff, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The same poll, conducted during and after the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., found Americans more satisfied with the direction of the county and more positive about the Democratic Party.

Trust in the federal government to handle international problems has increased among Democrats/Democratic leaners and Republicans/Republican leaners over the past year, and to a similar extent. It is up 10 percentage points among Democrats, to 80%, and up eight points among Republicans to 52%.

Republicans' trust on this dimension continues to be lower than it was while Republican George W. Bush was president, from 2001 through 2008; however, Democrats' is at a more than decade-long high.

Increase in Trust on Domestic Issues Driven by Democrats

Americans in the same poll also express significantly more trust in Washington to handle domestic problems than they have in the last two years. About half of Americans, 51%, now say they have a great deal (12%) or fair amount (39%) of trust in the federal government in Washington when it comes to handling domestic problems, up eight points from September 2011.

Still, Americans' trust on this dimension remains lower than their trust on international matters and is not much higher than it has been at several points in the past decade, including 51% in 2009 and 52% in 2007. In fact, the 15-point deficit in trust on domestic problems vs. international problems (51% vs. 66%) is the widest Gallup has seen since 1997.

One reason for the divergence is that, while confidence in the government to handle domestic problems rose sharply this year among Democrats -- to 69% from 57% -- it was essentially unchanged among Republicans, now at 33%.

Bottom Line

Americans are feeling more confident about the federal government's ability to handle both international and domestic problems than they have in several years.

Trust in government on international problems is particularly high, resulting from increased confidence among Democrats and Republicans alike over the past year. This may reflect the compound effect of the United States' operation against Osama bin Laden in May 2011 and aid to anti-Gadhafi forces in Libya in the fall of 2011, as well as the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq at the end of 2011. Whether Americans' trust will continue at this level amid recent anti-American uprisings in the Mideast remains to be seen, but if it does, it suggests President Barack Obama may benefit from his "commander in chief" role as he asks Americans to give him a second term.

With continued tepid reviews of Washington's ability to handle domestic problems, his greatest liability with voters will likely continue to be the economy.