Majority of Americans: Rumsfeld Should Resign

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey finds a majority of Americans (52%) saying Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should resign. Only 36% say he should not. As might be expected, Democrats particularly favor resignation (70% yes, 20% no), while independents are in favor by a 24-point margin (55% to 31%). One third of Republicans also say Rumsfeld should resign, though 57% disagree.

Do you think Donald Rumsfeld should -- or should not -- resign as secretary of defense?

These views come after Rumsfeld ignited a firestorm of criticism when he responded to a U.S. soldier's question about the lack of adequate armor by saying, "you go to war with the Army you have ... not the Army you might want or wish to have." Although President George W. Bush supported Rumsfeld in a press conference on Monday, several Republican senators, including Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, John McCain of Arizona, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, and Susan Collins of Maine, have criticized Rumsfeld's remarks as well as the way the Pentagon has been conducting the war. Several Republican senators have also defended Rumsfeld.

The poll, conducted Dec. 17-19, also finds that Americans disapprove of the way Rumsfeld is handling his job as secretary of defense by a 50% to 41% margin. The public was evenly divided last May, with 46% approving and 45% disapproving. That rating came during the controversy regarding U.S. soldiers' treatments of Iraqi prisoners. In 2003, just as American soldiers had successfully invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein, Rumsfeld's approval rating was considerably higher than it is now.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Rumsfeld is handling his job as secretary of defense?

Again, there is a large partisan divide, but the pattern on this question is similar to the pattern on resignation. About one-third of Republicans disapprove (34%), compared with a small plurality of independents (45%) and a large majority of Democrats (69%).

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Rumsfeld is handling his job as secretary of defense?

The recent events may have affected President Bush's image as well. Overall, 49% of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the presidency, down from 53% two weeks ago and 55% a month ago. After Bush's re-election, the president experienced a bounce in approval, which had been just 48% right before the election. Bush's average job approval for 2004 is 51%.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Bush's rating remains highly polarized between Republicans and Democrats. While 88% of Republicans approve, just 14% of Democrats approve -- a gap of 74 percentage points. By comparison, the partisan gap in approval of Rumsfeld is a relatively small 42 percentage points (62% of Republicans approve compared with 20% of Democrats).

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,002 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 17-19, 2004. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For results based on the 478 national adults in the Form A half-sample and 524 national adults in the Form B half-sample, the maximum margins of sampling error are ±5 percentage points.

5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Rumsfeld is handling his job as secretary of defense?

            BASED ON 478 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

6. Do you think Donald Rumsfeld should -- or should not -- resign as secretary of defense?

            BASED ON 524 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B