MNSBC online poll: 87 percent say 'plenty to justify' Bush impeachment

RAW STORY
Published: Friday November 10, 2006

An MSNBC online poll shows that the overwhelming majority of its participating voters believe President Bush should be impeached.

The poll asked the question, "Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment?" Four choices were presented:

- "Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial."

- "No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching 'high crimes and misdemeanors.'"

- "No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching."

- "I don't know."

Of nearly 360,000 people who had voted in the "unscientific" poll by 9:30PM Eastern on Friday evening, 87 percent responded "Yes."

Despite public clamor in some sectors for an investigation of controversial actions by President Bush and his administration, which could potentially lead to articles of impeachment, key players in the newly empowered Democratic majority are playing down such calls.

DNC chairman Howard Dean recently said, "[W]e're not going to do that," while the probable next Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, had earlier indicated that impeachment was "off the table."

Likely next head of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, is a concern to some Republicans who fear he may initiate prompt, partisan panel hearings on the Bush administration's actions regarding the Iraq war, the consolidation of power in the executive branch, and other divisive events.

But as memories of the bitter 2006 election season begin to fade, and as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Republican Party chair Ken Mehlman step down in the wake of Democratic gains, there are signs that bipartisanship action on pressing issues may supersede cries for retribution--at least for now.

'Caveat webtor'

As for the poll, despite considerable voter support for impeachment indicated in its tally, MSNBC notes that it is "not a scientific survey" and includes a link to a separate page that explains in some detail how a randomly selected sample of "1,000 people can be more representative than" an informal online survey of hundreds of thousands.

"MSNBC's Live Votes are not intended to be a scientific sample of national opinion," the website notes. "Instead, they are ... a way to share your views on the news with MSNBC writers and editors and with your fellow users."

The poll is presently available here but could be removed, altered or archived at any time. A cache of earlier, though similar, results is viewable here.

The above from Raw Story, found here, on the web.