By a wide margin, we don't believe our Attorney General's spin. Yes, we can't believe the top law enforcement official in the United States. That says a lot about Gonzales and his boss, George Bush. The Washington Post-ABC News poll has the numbers:
In the poll, 67 percent said they believed the prosecutors were fired by the Justice Department for political reasons, not on the basis of their performance. About eight in 10 Democrats and two-thirds of independents said they saw political motivations behind the firings of the U.S. attorneys, an attitude shared by 53 percent of all Republicans surveyed.Interesting that so many Republicans think Gonzales should keep his job, even though it's clear he's lying. They just accept that Bush and company just lie.
Overall, nearly six in 10 Americans disapproved of the way Gonzales has handled the issue. Among Republicans, 47 percent expressed disapproval of how the Republican attorney general has handled the matter, with 35 percent approving and 18 percent having no opinion.
With widespread public skepticism about the firings and low approval of how the attorney general has handled the matter -- 24 percent approved in this poll -- 45 percent of Americans said the attorney general should lose his job over the issue. Fewer, 39 percent, said he should remain in place; 16 percent expressed no opinion.
Opinion was split along party lines: About six in 10 Democrats said he should lose his job over the issue, but a similar percentage of Republicans thought he should continue on in his position. Forty-six percent of independents said Gonzales should lose his job, 36 percent thought he should keep it and 19 percent were undecided.
