In the summary of its March 18-23 News Coverage Index, the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), which listed the News Coverage Index as its March 27 “Lead,” selectively cited a March 16-19 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press to support the assertion that “the public has yet to evince great enthusiasm” for the story of the Bush administration's firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Additionally, PEJ suggested -- citing no evidence -- that this purported lack of interest was the product of a “pox on everybody's house” view that “many people” have about investigations into the firing of the attorneys.

PEJ's summary cited only one question from the Pew poll, concerning which news story respondents “followed most closely” during the week of March 12, to support the assertion that “the public has yet to evince great enthusiasm” for the attorney story. PEJ contrasted the percentage “of the public [that] said the U.S. attorney story was the one they followed most closely” -- “only 8%” -- with the percentage of the “overall newshole” the U.S. attorney story filled according to PEJ's index -- 16 percent. However, PEJ did not note that the same Pew poll also found that 19 percent of respondents said they were following "[q]uestions about how the White House and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales were involved in the firing of eight federal prosecutors" “very closely,” while 24 percent said they were following it “fairly closely.” In the summary of its poll's findings, Pew included a table (below) in which it compared public interest in 15 “Washington scandals past and present.” According to its findings, the “firing of federal prosecutors” was the seventh in a list of scandals “followed very closely” involving senior government officials:

PEJ asserted -- without evidence -- that “many people may ... share the view” of CNN host Lou Dobbs, citing Dobbs' March 22 CNN.com commentary, in which he wrote: “And this is what passes for a big-time, dramatic, historical constitutional crisis in 21st century America? ... You've got to be kidding. ... The White House is behaving with utter contempt for Congress and Congress is acting without respect or regard for this president. Could it be that, at long last, they're both right?” The cited March 16-19 Pew poll did not include any questions concerning whether Americans favored the Democrats, Republicans, Congress, or the president on the issue of the firings or the investigation. The more recent March 21-25 Pew poll also did not include such a question or one addressing how closely respondents were following the attorney story.

On March 26, USA Today released a March 23-25 poll in which 72 percent of respondents said that “Congress should ... investigate the involvement of White House officials in this matter” and 68 percent of respondents said the White House should “answer all questions” rather than invoke “executive privilege.” In the same poll, 59 percent of respondents said that the “congressional Democrats” were “investigating these dismissals ... mostly because they want to gain political advantage,” but 48 percent of respondents said “Democrats in Congress” were spending the “right amount” or “not... enough” time on the “matter” compared with 40 percent of respondents who said the Democrats were spending “too much” time.

According to its website, PEJ, which joined the Pew Research Center in June 2006, is “a research organization that specializes in using empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press.” The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is also part of the Pew Research Center.

From PEJ's summary, “The Scent of Scandal Makes Gonzales the Big Story”:

Yet, as NPR noted, the story has thus far exposed something of a disconnect between news producer and news consumer. While journalists appear fascinated by this battle between Congress and the White House, the public has yet to evince great enthusiasm for it.

According to a News Interest Index survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, only 8% of the public said the U.S. attorneys story was the one they followed most closely in the week of March 12. (That week it led all news coverage at 16%.) And preliminary results from last week indicate that citizen interest in the subject is up only marginally, despite the even higher level of media coverage.

For journalists and Washington-watchers, there was plenty of drama in the Justice Department scandal last week. Gonzales battled to keep his job, Bush voiced support for him, and Congress authorized subpoenas to try and force the public testimony of former White House counsel Harriet Miers and top aide Karl Rove. Stories spoke of a Constitutional showdown between the legislative and executive branches -- a term loaded with historical resonance.

Liberal MSNBC “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann opened his March 22 show by declaring there is “nothing more dangerous to a presidency perhaps than a scandal evoking Watergate and executive privilege and attorneys general in trouble.” In case anyone missed the point, Olbermann's interview subject that night was none other than Richard Nixon White House Counsel John Dean, now a Bush critic.

Maybe, if the public ever comes to view what Olbermann calls “Gonzales-gate” as sharing some kind of parallel to Watergate, interest may well rise. But many people may instead share the view of CNN's Lou Dobbs who, in a commentary posted on CNN.com, put a pox on everybody's house.

“And this is what passes for a big-time, dramatic, historical constitutional crisis in 21st century America?” Dobbs wrote. “You've got to be kidding...The White House is behaving with utter contempt for Congress and Congress is acting without respect or regard for this president. Could it be that, at long last, they're both right?”