Did Nancy Pelosi lie? New poll shows Americans are divided.
Apparently the American people didn't get President Obama's memo that this is the age of post-partisanship.
Because at least when it comes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's spat with the CIA, the results of a new poll are entirely predictable.
Did the CIA mislead her and Congress on the use of waterboarding ? She says yes. The CIA says no. Americans are divided according to the new Rasmussen survey and it all breaks down by party line.
Forty-three percent of those polled believe that it's "at least somewhat likely" the CIA misled Pelosi while 41 percent believe it's not likely. The partisan gap is what's telling. Sixty-two percent of Democrats are willing to accept what she said while an identical 62 percent of Republicans don't buy it.
Those not affiliated with a party are more likely not to support Pelosi's statement by a 48 percent to 38 percent margin.
Congress
One thing is certain, the issue's not going away. Not only was it the topic du jour during the Sunday morning news shows, but there was plenty of spillover this morning.
The ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee says the issue cannot be rest until there's some accountability.
"She made some outrageous accusations last week where she said that the CIA lied to her and lied systematically over a period of years. That is a very, very serious charge," Rep. Pete Hoekstra said appearing on CNN's "American Morning."
"Either the CIA needs to be held accountable for their performance during this time or the speaker needs to be held accountable and be responsible for the actions and the statements that she made last week. One or the other is correct, one or the other is wrong," he said.
Other results
The CIA gets good marks in the poll with every demographic giving them a thumbs up but Republicans are much more supportive giving the organization a 78 percent "approval rating" while 51 percent of Democrats have a favorable impression.
As for the use of waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques, 80 percent of Republicans believe valuable intelligence was secured by its use while 60 percent of Democrats believe it.
You can read more on the poll here.
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