Eighteen percent of Americans have never even heard of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, according to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll. That's understandable, given that he has only been with the administration a little over two years and hasn't been as controversial or high-profile as Ashcroft for most of that time.

But 18% also have never heard of Karl Rove, and 19% have never heard of Nancy Pelosi. I'm usually pretty cynical and realistic about the average citizen's level of concern about politics and world affairs, but even I find it hard to believe that nearly one in five people have never heard of three of the most powerful and influential people in the country world. Sadly, I'm willing to bet there are fewer people who have never heard of the latest American Idol winner.

Among those who have heard of these figures and have an opinion

• Only 26% view Alberto Gonzales favorably. That's down from 32% in June 2005.
• Karl Rove's approval rating is even lower, at 21%.
  
• Nancy Pelosi's approval rating is down to 37%, from 44% this January. But she's still polling three points higher than Bush.

Another surprising statistic: Although the majority (56%) say we made a mistake sending troops to Iraq, 43% still think it wasn't a mistake. In other words, even though 60% are now ready to pull out, and even though every justification for the invasion has fallen through, and even though the majority of Americans think the situation is horrible and will get worse when we leave... nearly half of the country would do it all again if given the chance.