Yet more than six in 10 also see these incidents as isolated, and say they should not cost Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld his job.

Three-quarters of the public are closely following the story, a level of attention reserved for some of the most gripping news events. Two-thirds favor criminal charges against the soldiers involved; fewer — but still a majority — 54 percent, say punishment should go up the chain of command to higher-level officers who allowed a breakdown of training and discipline.

Still, given current knowledge, most say the buck should stop before it gets to Rumsfeld. Twenty percent in this ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll say he should resign, while many more, 69 percent, say he should retain his position. Even most Democrats — hardly the administration's fondest fans — say Rumsfeld should stay.

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by TNS.

Views may be changeable based on the facts that develop and the level of attention the issue commands.

Anger about the incidents is highest among people who are following the story most closely, and much lower among those who haven't paid it much attention.

Similarly, while relatively few in any group say Rumsfeld should go, calls for his departure are least prevalent among people who haven't tuned in to the controversy.

And people who think abuse has been widespread, rather than isolated, are three times more likely to say Rumsfeld should resign (37 percent of them say so, compared with 12 percent of those who think the incidents are isolated.)

Government Accountability
Donald Rumsfeld Should:	Resign His Job	Keep His Job
All	20 percent	69 percent
Democrats	30 percent	58 percent
Independents	17 percent	73 percent
Republicans	11 percent	82 percent

Bush Administration Response

Assessments of President Bush's response to the scandal are more positive than negative, but with many withholding judgment: Forty-eight percent approve, 35 percent disapprove and 17 percent have no opinion. In a positive sign for the president, his approval rating for handling the situation peaks, at 54 percent, among those who are following it most closely.

Bush might be helped by apologizing, perhaps more directly than he has to date: Fifty-nine percent of Americans say he should apologize directly to the Iraqi people. Nearly half of Republicans say so, as well as six in 10 or more Democrats and independents.

A danger for Bush, as for Rumsfeld, is the possibility of revelations indicating the abuse was more widespread. Among people who think it's isolated, 62 percent approve of the way Bush is handling it; among those who think it's widespread, his approval falls to 25 percent. People who think the abuse is widespread also are far more likely to think the administration initially tried to cover it up.

The partisan, 50-50 nation rears its head on questions of the administration's initial response to the scandal. With huge differences by political affiliation, the public divides evenly, 42-42 percent, on whether the administration acted quickly enough in investigating these reports when they first became known, or moved too slowly.

It's almost an identical division, 44-43 percent, on whether the administration initially sought to investigate the scandal or cover it up. Again there are vast partisan differences in these views: Republicans and Democrats are a mirror image, with independents split down the middle.

Was the Administration Mainly Trying to Investigate the Issue or Cover it Up?
Administration Sought to:	Investigate	Cover it Up
All	44 percent	43 percent
Democrats	26 percent	62 percent
Independents	44 percent	42 percent
Republicans	67 percent	22 percent

  War Views on the war itself are largely stable, and not particularly positive. A new low, 38 percent, say the administration has a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq (it was close to that, 42 percent, last fall). Six in 10 continue to say the United States has gotten bogged down there. And the public still divides about evenly, now 49-47 percent, on whether the war was worth fighting, a division that's been more or less steady in ABC/Post polls since February.

   Isolated? As noted, the public by 2-1, 62 percent to 31 percent, thinks the apparent abuse represents "a few isolated incidents" rather than something more widespread. The sense that it's isolated peaks among Republicans, at 75 percent, and it's much higher among whites (68 percent) than among non-whites, who divide evenly on the question.

   Impact of Scandal There is broad agreement, though, that the scandal is a legitimate one. Only seven percent of Americans say they're "not concerned" about it. Instead 39 percent are "concerned," a quarter "upset" and another quarter downright "angry."

Anger peaks, at 34 percent, among those who are following the scandal most closely, and it's lowest, 14 percent, among those who are not following it closely. Similarly, among those who are following it very closely, 26 percent say Rumsfeld should resign; among those not following it closely, this drops to 10 percent.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone May 5-6, 2004, among a random national sample of 802 adults. The results have a 3.5-point error margin. Field work by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

See previous analyses, full questionnaire and details of the poll's methodology in our Poll Vault.