According to a new
AP poll, the majority of Americans aren't buying the President's rationale for ignoring the law.
The highlight:
Over the past three weeks, President Bush and top aides have defended the electronic monitoring program they secretly launched shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, as a vital tool to protect the nation from al-Qaida and its affiliates.
Yet 56 percent of respondents in an AP-Ipsos poll said the government should be required to first get a court warrant to eavesdrop on the overseas calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens when those communications are believed to be tied to terrorism.
Not that it should matter, but this is a strong sign that members of Congress should not feel threatened by those wrapping themselves in the flag in their push for an all-powerful Executive branch.
Compare this finding to public opinion during the Clinton impeachment fiasco:
Sixty-two percent of all Americans and 55 percent of likely voters say they are opposed to impeachment, while 55 percent of Americans disapprove of how congressional Republicans have been handling the Lewinsky scandal, the survey suggests. Clinton's job approval rating, at 65 percent, shows no sign of slippage -- CNN / Gallup (late 90's)
Now, the president and WH undboubtedly know that the public is extremely skeptical of how W is wielding his power -- hence comments like this yesterday, reported in today's NY Times:
In some of his most combative language yet directed at his critics, Mr. Bush said Americans should insist on a debate "that brings credit to our democracy, not comfort to our adversaries." That follows a theme that Vice President Dick Cheney set last week, when he said critics of the administration's conduct of the war risked undercutting the effort to defeat the insurgency.
Again, public opinion shouldn't drive the way a Rep or Senator handles this grave situation. But in this case, the public does seem open to hearings and even a potential impeachment discussion. Defending the constitution will be a winner in 2006.
And it's our job to make sure folks don't roll over...