More than half of all Americans believe that now-former CIA Director David Petraeus had no choice but to resign, according to a new
Gallup Poll conducted between Nov. 15 to 18.
Despite agreeing with his choice to resign, most still view him in a relatively favorable way because of his handling of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and work while running the CIA.
Fifty-one percent of all Americans said he had no choice but to resign after an FBI investigation into a stalking accusation revealed he was having an affair with his biographer. Forty-one percent think he should not have quit, and 8 percent were not sure.
Petraeus left his position running the spy agency on Nov. 9 when investigators informed the Director of National Intelligence of what they’d discovered about him.
Just over half the country, 53 percent, is paying at least somewhat close attention to the Petraeus matter, pollsters found. Gallup analysts found that to be a somewhat low number considering that 71 percent of Americans are paying very close attention to news about the fiscal cliff.
While many believe Petraeus was right to leave the CIA, his favorability ratings remain relatively high, with 46 percent of men and 34 percent of women maintaining a positive view of him. At the same time, 17 percent fewer men and 14 percent fewer women see him positively.
Gallup’s poll was based on 1,015 random respondents across the country and has a 4-point margin of error.
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