From AfterDowningStreet.org: Countering the Lies About Impeachment
Thursday, January 26, 2006
The Lie: "Impeachment is not likely to gain political traction, said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. 'Only hard-core Democratic partisans want to see Bush impeached, so it just turns people off.'" --The Dallas Morning NewsThe article: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/012606dnnatnsa.173c9eb8.html
The reporter: mmittelstadt@dallasnews.com
The pundit: sabato@virginia.edu
The facts:
Among American adults, 53% agreed and 42% disagreed with the statement:
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
Among Democrats 76% agreed, and 22% disagreed.
Oct. 29 – Nov. 2, 2005, Zogby International poll, commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, +/- 2.9% margin of error.
Among American adults 52% agreed and 43% disagreed with the statement:
"If President Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
Among Democrats 71% agreed, and 24% disagreed.
January 9-12, 2006, Zogby International poll, commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, +/- 2.9% margin of error.
Among American adults, 50% agreed and 44% disagreed with the statement:
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable by impeaching him."
Many felt strongly: 39% strongly agreed, while 30% strongly disagreed.
Among Democrats 72% agreed, 59% strongly agreed, 23% disagreed, and 11% strongly disagreed.
Oct. 6-9, Ipsos Public Affairs poll, commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, +/- 3.1% margin of error.
Note on Methodology
The above polls asked about support for impeachment if Bush committed certain acts, rather than asking simply about support for impeachment. Pollsters predicted that asking simply about impeachment without any context would produce a large number of "I don't know" responses. The results may miss significant numbers who support Bush's impeachment for other reasons.
Majority Believes Bush Lied About War
Other polls show a majority of U.S. adults believe that Bush did in fact lie about the reasons for war. A June 23-26 ABC/Washington Post poll found 52% of Americans believe the Bush administration "deliberately misled the public before the war," and 57% say the Bush administration "intentionally exaggerated its evidence that pre-war Iraq possessed nuclear, chemical or biological weapons."
Historical Comparison
In August and September of 1998, 16 major polls asked about impeaching President Clinton. On average, 36% of American adults supported hearings to consider impeachment, and 26% supported actual impeachment and removal.
