From the bizarre to the truly bizarre. You've all read
McJoan's front page post in which she notes that more people support Russ Feingold's resolution of censure of George W. Bush than oppose it. Also listed in the
ARG poll to which she cites is the question: "Do you favor or oppose the United States House of Representatives voting to impeach President George W. Bush?"
Yes: 42
No: 49
Note that this is not even qualified by the question of whether he was involved in illegal wiretaps or anything else. This is more than favored impeaching Bill Clinton on the eve of the House vote to impeach him. Full results and comparisons are below.
Do you favor or oppose the United States House of Representatives voting to impeach President George W. Bush?
3/15/06 Favor Oppose Undecided
All Adults 42% 49% 9%
Voters 43% 50% 7%
Republicans (33%) 18% 80% 2%
Democrats (37%) 61% 30% 9%
Independents (30%) 47% 40% 13%
Bill Clinton was impeached on December 19, 1998. Here are some of the polls taken the week before the House voted on the articles of impeachment:
ABC News Poll. December 16, 1998. N=510 adults nationwide.
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"As you may know, the House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on whether or not to impeach Bill Clinton. If the House impeaches him, the Senate will hold a trial to decide whether or not Clinton should be removed from office. Based on what you know, do you think the House should or should not impeach Clinton?"
Should 40
Should not 58
No opinion 2
ABC News Poll. December 11, 1998. N=528 adults nationwide. 12/12-13/98
"As you may know, the House Judiciary Committee in Congress has voted to recommend that the full House impeach Clinton. Do you support or oppose the committee's vote to recommend impeachment?"
Support 41
Oppose 58
No opinion 1
CBS News Poll. December 18, 1998. N=548 adults nationwide.
"The House is likely to vote on the four articles of impeachment tomorrow. When the full U.S. House of Representatives votes on whether or not to impeach President Clinton, do you want your representative to vote for or against impeachment?"
All Rep Dem Ind
For 38 66 14 39
Against 58 27 84 58
Don't know/No answer 4 7 2 3
Thanks to the invaluable
pollingreport.com for the foregoing archived polls.
In short, a summary of those polls finds that none was over 41 percent; many were down in the 30s. Yet Clinton was impeached, and the press coverage was huge.
Now, we have a president whom even a greater percentage of the American public would like to see impeached. Where are the front page stories in the Washington Post? Where are the hour-long analytical programs on CNN? Where is the national debate?