Arguably, a president's Cabinet choices are among the most crucial decisions he has to make. In addition to their advisory capacity, the Cabinet members serve as government spokespersons. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll asked the public to rate some of the more prominent members of the Bush Cabinet.
Dick Cheney
Americans' views of Vice President Dick Cheney are mixed, according to the June 24-26 poll*. Forty-eight percent of Americans view Cheney favorably, while 44% view him unfavorably. Eight percent have never heard of Cheney or have no opinion. The most recent results represent a slight dip in positive views of the vice president. After the November election, 53% of Americans viewed Cheney favorably (a view that held steady at least through February). The current ratings are more in line with those observed throughout most of last year.
The low point for Cheney's favorability came in August 2004, at 44%, while it was at its zenith in early 2002, when two-thirds (67%) of Americans viewed him positively.
Rice Remains Well-Liked, but Rumsfeld Losing Favor
There is a wide gulf in popularity between two of Bush's primary foreign policy advisers. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has become Bush's most popular Cabinet member since Colin Powell left the post, remains well-liked. However, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's favorable rating continues to decline.
Sixty-one percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Rice, while roughly a quarter (27%) have an unfavorable opinion of her. Rice's favorable rating has been around 60% since April 2004. Prior to that it was in the low 50% range, but that was mainly because a higher proportion of Americans were unfamiliar with her. Since Gallup began asking the question, at least twice as many Americans have rated her favorably as unfavorably. Rice's high favorability ratings still don't touch those of her predecessor, Powell, who consistently received the highest favorability ratings Gallup has measured, all above 80% since December 2000.
Things aren't so rosy for Rumsfeld, who has been dogged with criticism about his handling of the Iraq war and interrogation practices for prisoners. About as many Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Rumsfeld (44%) as have a favorable one (46%). Rumsfeld's favorable rating has gradually declined in recent years as the rally in support for the government following the Sept. 11 attacks has eroded. Rumsfeld's initial favorable rating of 67% -- measured in July 2002 -- was the highest he received. Each successive rating of the defense secretary has been at least slightly below the previous one.
Alberto Who?
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, both new to the president's Cabinet this term, are relatively unknown to the public. More Americans have a favorable than unfavorable opinion of Gonzales and Chertoff, but half the population has no opinion of either man.
A third of Americans view Gonzales favorably, while 17% have an unfavorable impression. Fifty-one percent of Americans have never heard of Gonzales or have no opinion. The numbers are nearly identical for Chertoff -- 33% favorable, 17% unfavorable, 50% no opinion.
*These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,009 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted June 24-26, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
