(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are split over a proposal to directly reprimand their president for inappropriate behaviour, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 41 per cent of respondents want the U.S. Congress to formally censure George W. Bush, while 47 per cent disagree.

In December 2005, Bush defended a secret domestic electronic surveillance program that includes the wiretapping of the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties. The president's remarks came in response to media reports that, since 2002, Bush has authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to operate this program without any judicial oversight.

In March 2006, Democratic Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold officially introduced a resolution to censure Bush, saying, "The president has broken the law and the censure resolution (...) is intended to hold him accountable."

On Jul. 22, Feingold said he would introduce two new censure resolutions: one seeking to reprimand Bush for "getting the nation into (the Iraq war) without adequate military preparation and for issuing misleading public statements", and another directed at U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney. Feingold explained his rationale, saying, "This is an opportunity for people to say, 'Let's at least reflect on the record that something terrible has happened here.' This administration has weakened America in a way that is frightful."

In 1834, Andrew Jackson became the only U.S. president to be censured for removing the nation's money from a private bank in defiance of the Senate.

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports

Polling Data

Should Congress formally censure U.S. president George W. Bush?

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