Despite dropping approval ratings, a poll released Friday by CNN/ORC indicates little political will for the impeachment of President Barack Obama.
The issue was brought to the forefront most recently by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, also the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.
According to the results of the poll, while 45 percent of Americans think that the president has gone too far in expanding the executive power of the presidency, a 2006 poll by ORC shows that on this particular question, 48 percent thought that the George W. Bush administration had far exceeded its limits.
However, the trend reverses when considering the question of impeachment. Only 30 percent of Americans though George Bush should’ve been impeached, in comparison to a slightly higher 33 percent, who approve of impeaching Obama.
“Anti-impeachment sentiment is roughly where it was for past presidents — 67% opposed Bill Clinton’s impeachment in September 1998, and 69% opposed impeaching George W. Bush when a few Democrats began talking about it in 2006,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
Broken down further, 41 percent of whites believe that Obama should be impeached, as opposed to only 17 percent of non-whites. Age accounts for little variation, except for a slight increase among the 50-64 age range. Political affiliation, however, presents the biggest gaps. For the Republicans surveyed, 57 percent agree with impeachment, whereas only 13 percent of Democrats agree.
The sample size for Friday’s poll consisted of 1,012 Americans. Of the Americans polled, 32 percent described themselves as Democrats, and 24 percent thought of themselves as Republicans.
ORC conducted interviews over the telephone from July 18-20, resulting in a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
