Even among Democrats, 49% didn't think he should resign, while 42% thought he should. That hardly means Mr. Sununu is out of the woods, of course. Though President Bush says Mr. Sununu's job is safe for now, the ruckus over the chief of staff's extensive use of government and corporate jets and cars has brought to the surface a host of Sununu enemies who are likely to keep gunning for his demise. And while voters aren't clamoring for Mr. Sununu's head, they have formed a more negative impression of him. The survey found that 41% of voters have a negative view of the chief of staff, while just 10% said they have positive feelings. Last October, the view wasn't so clearly negative. Then, just 20% said they had negative feelings about Mr. Sununu, while 18% reported positive feelings. The Journal/NBC poll was conducted jointly by Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Robert Teeter. They canvassed 1,006 registered voters by telephone from last Saturday through Tuesday, a period when the latest flap over Mr. Sununu's failure to inform the White House counsel's office accurately about the procurement of a corporate jet he used to attend a Chicago fund-raiser was in full swing. The poll's findings are likely to fuel arguments by Mr. Sununu's supporters that the controversy over his travel isn't being taken as seriously in the country at large as it is inside Washington. Mr. Sununu admitted that he made mistakes in using government planes and his White House car for personal and political business, and he has adopted a low profile. He appears to be calculating that he can ride out the storm. The criticism isn't likely to stop, though. Enemies of the combative Mr. Sununu are trying to capitalize on his weakened position to hurt him, largely through anonymous criticisms and attacks. Some administration aides and Republican strategists are arguing, for instance, that he now is a clear political liability and should be pushed aside before Mr. Bush's re-election campaign gets into full swing. There also is quiet lobbying against Mr. Sununu by Israel's supporters, who long have been suspicious of him because of his links to Arab-American groups and his refusal as governor of New Hampshire to endorse a proclamation condemning a United Nations vote equating Zionism with racism. Israel backers, for instance, have been circulating a 1988 proclamation he signed as governor honoring the crew of the Liberty, a U.S. ship attacked by Israeli forces under murky circumstances during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
White House Chief of Staff Sununu may find some comfort in a new poll showing that of the voters surveyed, 80% had heard of the latest charges of inappropriate use of government and corporate transportation, but of those only 58% think that he should resign. The poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) for the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED), shows that 68% of respondents believe that President Obama has done enough to address the issue of wasteful Sununu has adopted a low profile apparently thinking that he can ride out the storm, but some administration aides and Republican strategists argue that he should be pushed aside before Bush's re-election campaign gets into full swing.