Just 21% of Americans agree with the President’s decision to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 47% disagree while 32% are not sure.

Democrats overwhelmingly disagreed with the decision. Sixty-four percent (64%) of those in Nancy Pelosi’s party opposed the decision while only 5% supported it. Republicans were fairly evenly divided—40% agreed with the President’s decision while 34% disagreed. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 21% agreed with the President and 39% disagreed.

The only silver lining for the President is that public interest in the story was fairly low. Just 54% of Americans say they were following the story even somewhat closely. That figure includes only 27% who followed the story Very Closely. Unaffiliated voters were somewhat less interested in the story than either Republicans or Democrats.

Nineteen percent (19%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of Libby. That’s unchanged over the past month. Fifty-two percent (52%) have an unfavorable view, including 32% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of Libby.

Libby, once the chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, had been convicted of lying to federal investigators and sentenced to 30 months in prison. The President commuted Libby’s sentence without offering a full pardon and said he did so because of Libby's "exceptional public service" and the fact that the prison sentence was "excessive."

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans now believe that President Bush should be impeached and removed from office.

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