Earlier This Year, Public Split on Need for Gonzales' Resignation

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Previous Gallup Poll measurements of the American public's view of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales suggest that his surprise resignation on Monday will neither be wildly praised nor greeted with great sorrow. Asked earlier this year about Gonzales' resignation, about as many Americans thought it was a good idea as thought it a bad idea, although a sizable percentage did not have an opinion. Gonzales was not a particularly well-known figure, but over time had moved to a position in which he was viewed on balance more negatively than positively. Americans also were more likely to disapprove than approve of the job he was doing as attorney general. Republicans have been much more positive about Gonzales than independents or Democrats, but even so, less than half of Republicans in Gallup's latest measure said they approved of the way he was handling his job.

Public Ratings of Gonzales

Gonzales' resignation on Monday came at a time when he had been relatively out of the news. As a result, Gallup's latest measures of the public's views of the embattled attorney general came in April of this year. A review of that poll -- and previous Gallup Polls on the topic -- shows the public generally had been more negative than positive in their ratings of Gonzales personally, and also with the way he handled his job as attorney general. At the same time, these most recent Gallup data showed a significant percentage of Americans at that time were not familiar enough with Gonzales to rate him.

According to an April 13-15, 2007 USA Today/Gallup poll, just 25% of Americans said they approved of the way Gonzales was handling his job as attorney general, while 48% disapproved, and 27% had no opinion.

Not surprisingly, given Gonzales' strong identification with Republican President George W. Bush, his job approval ratings are considerably higher among Republicans than among Democrats or independents. Still, just 43% of Republicans said they approved of the way Gonzales was handling his job -- less than a majority. Almost a third -- 29% -- of Republicans disapproved, while the rest didn't have an opinion. A majority of both independents and Democrats disapproved of Gonzales' performance in office.

In terms of Americans' ratings of Gonzales personally, a March 23-25, 2007 USA Today/Gallup poll found that Gonzales' image had turned negative by earlier this year. Shortly after he took over as attorney general in 2005, 32% rated Gonzales favorably, 17% unfavorably, and more than half were unfamiliar with him. But by March, as he was embroiled in controversies over the firing of several U.S. attorneys, his favorable rating had dropped to 26%, while his unfavorable rating more than doubled to 38%.

Not surprisingly, Republicans rated Gonzales much more positively than independents or Democrats.

Gonzales and the U.S. Attorney Dismissal Scandal

Gallup twice asked Americans earlier this year whether Gonzales should resign over his handling of the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys. Reaction across the two polls was very mixed. About as many Americans said he should resign as said he should not resign.

In April, 60% of Democrats supported the idea of Gonzales' resignation. That compares with 40% of independents and just 21% of Republicans. Again, a sizable number of Americans at that point did not have an opinion on the issue.

Almost half of Americans earlier this year said that they were following news of Gonzales and the firing of eight attorneys "not too closely" or "not at all" closely. Only 15% were following the story very closely, while another 38% said they were following the story somewhat closely.

How closely have you been following the news about the U.S. Justice Department in Washington dismissing eight U.S. attorneys -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

On a comparative basis, public interest in the story does not rank as high as other news stories this year. For example, Americans were paying much more attention to three other stories that happened this year -- the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Don Imus' remarks about Rutgers women's basketball players, and the illegal immigration bill. Americans did, however, pay more attention to the U.S. attorney dismissals than they did to the Scooter Libby trial.

Bottom Line

Americans earlier this year had mixed feelings about the need for Alberto Gonzales to resign his position as attorney general, with about as many favoring it as opposing it. Gonzales had a more negative than positive image, and a higher percentage of Americans disapproved of his performance in office as approved. Still, since almost half of Americans have not been following the news of his firing of the U.S. attorneys closely, it is unlikely that his resignation will cause an uproar among Americans.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,000 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted across various polls in 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.