60% of the public blames Bush on Plame leaks
This story is making a splash on the progressive blogs, so I might as well cover it. too.
The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds more than 6 in 10 Americans critical of President George W. Bush on the leak controversy. The more closely people are following the issue, the more likely they are to say he did something illegal rather than unethical. The poll also shows that 37% of Americans continue to approve of Bush's job performance, unchanged from last month. While that is a low rating -- and among the lowest of the Bush administration -- it represents no change in four Gallup polls conducted since the end of February. (. . .)
Overall, 63% of Americans believe Bush did something either illegal (21%) or unethical (42%), while 28% say he did nothing wrong. (. . .)
Views are highly correlated with party affiliation. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say Bush did nothing wrong, while only 18% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree. On the other hand, 30% of Republicans say Bush did something unethical or illegal, compared with 70% of independents and 85% of Democrats.
What I find interesting about the whole matter is that it isn't really about the legality of the leak, although that's been the focus of the media. What's significant is Bush's history of claiming that he was determined to find out who leaked the information, that anyone involved would be fired, and that he had no clue who was responsible. All lies repeated frequently to the public. But as I've said before, the real legacy of the Bush Republicans has been to turn lies into accepted political dialogue.
The latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds more than 6 in 10 Americans critical of President George W. Bush on the leak controversy. The more closely people are following the issue, the more likely they are to say he did something illegal rather than unethical. The poll also shows that 37% of Americans continue to approve of Bush's job performance, unchanged from last month. While that is a low rating -- and among the lowest of the Bush administration -- it represents no change in four Gallup polls conducted since the end of February. (. . .)
Overall, 63% of Americans believe Bush did something either illegal (21%) or unethical (42%), while 28% say he did nothing wrong. (. . .)
Views are highly correlated with party affiliation. Sixty-one percent of Republicans say Bush did nothing wrong, while only 18% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree. On the other hand, 30% of Republicans say Bush did something unethical or illegal, compared with 70% of independents and 85% of Democrats.
What I find interesting about the whole matter is that it isn't really about the legality of the leak, although that's been the focus of the media. What's significant is Bush's history of claiming that he was determined to find out who leaked the information, that anyone involved would be fired, and that he had no clue who was responsible. All lies repeated frequently to the public. But as I've said before, the real legacy of the Bush Republicans has been to turn lies into accepted political dialogue.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 11:50 AM
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