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Bowles
Clinton's Approval Rating Hits New High
Meanwhile, Lewinksy and Starr's disapproval ratings soarWASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Feb. 1) -- President Bill Clinton's approval ratings hit a new high this weekend -- even though most Americans believe he is hiding something about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll shows. The poll of 1,013 adults, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 1, gave Clinton a 69 percent approval rating. That's the highest of Clinton's presidency and better than Ronald Reagan's highest approval rating.
In a similar Time/CNN poll taken last week, Clinton's approval rating was 60 percent. One reason for the high approval rating in the latest poll is that most Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country today. Asked if they were satisfied, 63 percent responded yes -- a level of satisfaction not seen since the end of the Persian Gulf War.
Also, the polls shows the public is gaining a negative opinion of Lewinsky and independent counsel Ken Starr. Although 62 percent said they believed Clinton is hiding something, a majority disapproved of the way Starr is conducting his investigation. And 58 percent said Starr should stop his inquiry into allegations that Clinton had a sexual relationship with Lewinksy, a former White House intern, and then urged her to lie about it. Clinton has denied the allegations. In the latest poll, 66 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of the 24-year-old Lewinsky, while only 11 percent said they had a favorable opinion of her.
The survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, also showed a marked lack of support for brining impeachment proceedings against the president. Only 13 percent said Congress should start impeachment hearings, while 85 percent said it should not.
Nonetheless, the president has reason to worry whether his popularity will continue. A growing number believe Clinton has lied under oath about his relationship with Lewinsky, and nearly two-thirds think he has had extramarital affairs since becoming president. Asked if they consider Clinton to be honest and trustworthy, 53 percent said no. CNN's Keating Holland contributed to this report. |
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Sunday Feb. 1, 1998
• Clinton's Approval Rating Hits New High |
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