CNN Poll: 52% Say Bush Should Fire Rumsfeld

A CNN poll reported today reveals that 52% of the American public believes President Bush should fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Only 33% of those polled said Rumsfeld should not be fired and 15% were unsure. The results mark a significant change in public opinion since CNN asked the same question in April this year, when only 39% said Rumsfeld should be fired.

Rumsfeld has come under continuous attack for flubbing the occupation of Iraq, most recently from high-ranking military officers who served there. Yesterday, a scientific study revealed that the U.S. invasion of Iraq may have caused 650,000 Iraqi deaths, as violence spirals out of control and the country descends into anarchy and civil war.

Rumsfeld was a political mentor to Dick Cheney and gave him his first big break in politics. In 1974, when Rumsfeld became Gerald Ford's chief of staff, he made Cheney his deputy.