Poll Tracker

Barack Obama wanted the order of topics for the upcoming presidential debates to be changed so that foreign policy would come first so he could take on the challenge of showing his credentials in that area, not to mention setting up the last debate as the face-off over the economy which voters cite as the top issue in the campaign. Whether that first debate will go off as planned is in question because John McCain has asked for postponement until the bailout proposal to deal with the Wall Street crisis is worked out).

A Pew Research Center survey released today leaves no doubt what the public's priorities are. Americans say by 60 percent to 21 percent that the next President should focus on domestic rather than foreign policy.

When it does come to foreign policy issues Americans care about, the top three - cited by three-quarters or more of those polled - are protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks, protecting American jobs and reducing dependence on imported energy. Issues like reducing the spread of AIDS, dealing with climate change, stopping acts of genocide, strengthening the United Nations, human rights, and solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all rank significantly lower, and interest in several has declined.