After nearly 21 months of conflict in Iraq, Americans no longer support the military action in the region. The Washington Post's Christopher Muste writes up the preliminary story on the paper's website:

Most Americans now believe the war with Iraq was not worth fighting and more than half want to fire embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the chief architect of that conflict, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that 56 percent of the country now believes that the cost of the conflict in Iraq outweighs the benefits, while 42 percent disagreed. It marked the first time since the war began that a clear majority of Americans have judged the war to have been a mistake.

Barely a third of the country approves of the job that Rumsfeld is doing as defense secretary, and 52 percent said President Bush should sack Rumsfeld, a view shared by a big majority of Democrats and political independents.

Still, nearly six in 10 -- 58 percent -- said the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq rather than withdraw them, a proportion that has not changed in seven months.

What affect this might have on this highly ideological administration is unknown.

[Update 3:52 PM Pacific]: CNN/USA Today Gallup has a new poll with very similar results. It also has this:

As for Bush, 49 percent of respondents said they approved of the job the president is doing. That number is down from his November approval rating of 55 percent. Bush is the first incumbent president to have an approval rating below 50 percent one month after winning re-election. The question had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

That's what he calls a "mandate"?