A new survey on the foreign policy priorities of prospective American voters ahead of November's Presidential election reveals majority support for engaging in dialogue with leaders of foreign countries whose administrations are familiarly characterized as hostile to American interests.

Released yesterday, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey, which only dealt with issues related to foreign policy, found 63 percent of the study group backed government to government talks between Washington and Naypyitaw, with 30 percent strongly opposed to the idea.

The finding was consistent with a trend throughout the survey, which found majority support for dialogue outpacing a strict oppositionist line with respect to United States foreign policy vis-à-vis Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Zimbabwe, Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah.

It is a result which would seem to favor the purported policies of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama at the expense of his political rival, Republican nominee John McCain.

The American electorate reserved their lowest support, among the 14 issues included in the poll, for "helping to bring a democratic form of government to other nations."

Only 17 percent of those canvassed viewed assisting in the installation of democratic governance in foreign countries as "very important," while 23 percent understood such an objective as "not important" – the highest percentage of direct opposition to any of the listed foreign policy objectives.

Stated opposition to the pursuit of democratic norms abroad, according to The Chicago Council, is likely directly linked with lingering questions related to the Iraq War, which, as a seminal component of the Bush Doctrine, undertook the imposition of democratic governance as a primary policy objective.

Meanwhile, "promoting and defending human rights in other countries" came in third lowest on the list of prospective American voter priorities, deemed to be "very important" by just 31 percent of respondents. However, only 12 percent listed the pursuit of a global human rights discourse as "not important."

"While the changes appear more pragmatic than ideological," analyzed The Chicago Council in the release of their data, "they add up to a strong shift in direction, with an emphasis on using talks and multilateral institutions to tackle problems, even while keeping the military strong."

Previously, The Chicago Council found that Americans viewed China as the most influential country in today's world, with a majority of United States citizens preferring Washington refrain from opposing China's rise and instead focus on establishing improved bilateral and working relations with the East Asian power.

Additionally, an earlier poll conducted by Knowledge Networks, who also handled the Chicago Council survey, discovered two-thirds of Americans believe the economy is the most important issue in the upcoming election, a result far outpacing foreign policy considerations.

And according to Gallup, another polling company, economic prioritization among the electorate has only been growing in recent weeks with renewed fears over the state of the United States economy in the wake of the current investment banking crisis gripping the country.

"Improving America's standing in the world" topped The Chicago Council survey in support for the desired foreign policy objectives of the next White House administration, with 83 percent of respondents listing the vague heading as "very important."