Public Continues to Rate Karl Rove Negatively

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Congressional leaders in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted to approve subpoenas this week for President George W. Bush's adviser Karl Rove and other top administration officials to testify about White House involvement in the recent firings of eight federal prosecutors.

According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Mar. 23-25, 2007, Americans continue to be much more negative than positive in their assessments of the president's adviser: 21% have a favorable opinion of Rove, while 44% have an unfavorable opinion. Thirty-five percent of Americans say they either have never heard of Rove or have no opinion about him. Rove's current ratings are quite similar to those measured in November 2006.  

Americans have viewed Rove negatively since Gallup first measured his image in July 2005, and a substantial percentage has always been not familiar enough with Rove to rate him. Since July 2005, Rove's favorable rating has ranged from 19% to 25%, while his unfavorable rating has been as low as 34% and as high as 50%. That 50% unfavorable rating came in late April 2006, just after rumors circulated that Rove might be indicted in the investigation into the leak of CIA employee Valerie Plame's identity to reporters.

Overall, Republicans view Rove positively, while Democrats and independents view him quite negatively. In the current poll, 42% of Republicans rate him favorably, while 22% rate him unfavorably. This compares with a 7% favorable and 60% unfavorable rating among Democrats and a 17% favorable and 48% unfavorable rating among independents. Significant percentages of all three party groups -- between 33% and 36% -- are unfamiliar with the presidential adviser. 

These partisan results are consistent with Gallup's previous favorability ratings of Rove. Republicans have always viewed Rove more favorably than unfavorably, while Democrats have always been much more negative than positive in their opinions about the adviser.

The average favorable rating among Republicans has been 44% since July 2005, with a high of 50% and a low of 40%. Among Democrats, Rove's average favorable rating is just 8%, with a high of 11% and a low of 5%.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,007 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Mar. 23-25, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error 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.