Poll: Gender Gap Shows Up In Controversy

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 27) -- Women are more likely than men to give President Bill Clinton the benefit of the doubt in the Monica Lewinsky controversy, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Virtually all of the drop in Clinton's favorable rating is due to recent changes in how men view Clinton. In interviews conducted at last Friday and Saturday, 60 percent of men held a favorable view of Clinton.

In interviews conducted Sunday and Monday, however, only 48 percent of men held a favorable view, and 48 percent held an unfavorable view.

By contrast, women appear to be standing by Clinton during the most serious crisis to beset his presidency. A majority of women continue to have a favorable view of Clinton, and his favorable rating has actually gone up two points among them.

Clinton's job approval rating among men and women tells an even more compelling story. Clinton's approval rating, between the end of last week and the start of this week, has actually gone up among women. Among men, his approval rating has dropped in that same time. Currently, although a majority of both genders approve of how Clinton is handling his job, there is a 10-point difference between men and women.

The new survey was based on interviews with 864 adult Americans on Sunday and Monday. It has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.5 percentage points for the entire sample, and +/- 5 percentage points for sub-samples of men or women.

Here are the numbers:

Clinton's favorability rating

Since the end of last Friday and Saturday, Clinton's favorable rating has gone down slightly, from 57 percent to 53 percent. This modest 4-point drop is not statistically significant, but it may give an early indication that his forceful denial of an affair with Lewinsky on Monday might not have affected public opinion in his favor.

It is also important to note that Clinton's overall approval rating remains virtually unchanged, at 59 percent.

The approval rating is how many Americans approve of the way he is handling his job as president. The favorable rating is how many Americans have a favorable opinion of him personally.

Here are the numbers:

Tuesday Jan. 27, 1998

• Clinton: Use Budget Surpluses To Fix Social Security
• Lott Charts a Slightly Different Course
• Grand Jury Convened Without Lewinsky Testimony
• Details Of A Settlement Offer
• Lewinsky Allegations Overshadow State Of The Union
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Report: Lewinsky Allegedly Forged Document
• Hillary Clinton: 'This Is A Battle'
• Chelsea Deals With A Scandal

Analysis:
• Speech Memorable For What Clinton Didn't Say

Poll:
• Clinton Gets A Bounce
• Gender Gap Shows Up In Controversy
• Most Americans Still Have Confidence In Clinton

Profile:
• Kenneth Starr

Transcripts:
• President Bill Clinton's State Of The Union Addresss