Paul Kiel April 11, 2007, 9:40 AM

From The Los Angeles Times:

Most Americans believe Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales should resign because of the controversy over his office’s firing of federal prosecutors, and a big majority want White House aides to testify under oath about the issue, the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll has found.

The survey, conducted Thursday through Monday, found that 53% said Gonzales should step down because he claimed he had no role in the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys last year — an account later contradicted by Justice Department documents and congressional testimony by his top assistant….

Respondents were divided along party lines as to whether Gonzales should resign. Among Democrats, 68% said he should do so; among Republicans, 33% said he should depart.

Independents tip the balance — 57% said they supported calls for his resignation, while 22% said they thought he should stay.

Clearly the question about Gonzales was very narrowly tailored — it based the question about whether he should step down on his denial that he was involved in “discussions about what was going on.” I could think of a host of other reasons — that his subordinates lied to Congress, that he personally lied to senators, that he’s politicized and demoralized the ranks of federal prosecutors and done heavy damage to the rule of law — but apparently that’s enough for most people to say that he should go. Not a good sign.

The poll also found that 74 percent of the public (and 49 percent of Republicans) think that Karl Rove and other White House aides should testify before Congress under oath.

Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorneys