WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, November 23) -- More than two-thirds of the American public wants the House Judiciary Committee to wrap up its impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton, rather than call more witnesses, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

In the survey, 68 percent of people said the committee should complete its work and vote now on whether Clinton should be impeached, while 25 percent favored calling more witnesses and investigating more fully.

The numbers are based on interviews with 1,015 adults November 20-22, and the survey has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.

The survey found little change in the public's perceptions of Clinton, Independent Counsel Ken Starr or Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as the Monica Lewinsky affair drags towards its 11th month. Clinton has admitted an improper relationship with the ex-White House intern, but denied committing perjury or obstruction of justice to try to conceal it.

Here are the questions and results:

Question 1: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as President?

Question 2: As you may know, removing a President from office involves two major steps in Congress. First, the House of Representatives must vote on whether there is enough evidence to bring a president to trial before the Senate. This step is called impeachment. Next, the Senate must vote on whether to remove the president from office or not. What would you want your member of the House of Representatives to do -- vote in favor of impeaching Clinton and sending the case to the Senate for trial, or vote against impeachment of Clinton?

Question 3: Next I'd like to get your overall opinion of some people in the news. As I read each name, please say if you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of this person, or if you have never heard of him?

Question 4: Do you approve or disapprove of the way each of the following is handling the current investigation into the charges against Bill Clinton?

Question 5: As you may know, Independent Counsel Ken Starr testified on Thursday before the congressional committee investigating whether Bill Clinton should be impeached. From what you saw or heard of that hearing, do you think that hearing did or did not accomplish something worthwhile?

Question 6: What do you think the House Judiciary Committee should do now that they have heard testimony from Ken Starr -- call other witnesses and investigate the matter more thoroughly, or wrap up the hearings and vote now on whether Clinton should be impeached?

Question 7: From what you know about the way Ken Starr conducted his investigation into the Clinton-Lewinsky matter, do you think Starr acted more like a prosecutor or a persecutor?

Monday, November 23, 1998

• Poll: Americans want impeachment hearings over
• Hubbell pleads innocent to latest Whitewater charges
• Jury finds McDougal not guilty of all embezzlement charges
• Reno faces decisions on campaign finance investigations
• Landow testimony before House panel delayed
• Health care again on agenda -- but what to do?
• Social Security, taxes to be top priorities, Livingston says

ARCHIVES

Search CNN/AllPolitics by           Enter keyword(s)       go    help