WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, January 6) -- On the eve of the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton, most Americans believe there shouldn't be a trial at all, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

If the Senate does go ahead with a trial, 62 percent want it to last just a few days, and 57 percent say that the Senate should not hear testimony from witnesses such as Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan or Betty Currie.

Only a third of Americans support removing Clinton from office, and 85 percent say that it is unlikely that anything revealed in a trial would change their minds about whether he should be removed.

Clinton's approval rating has fallen from 73 percent immediately following his impeachment to 63 percent. But that 73 percent figure was probably artificially high (likely due to a combination of sympathy in the wake of the unpopular impeachment vote and support for the commander-in-chief while the military was engaged in operations in Iraq).

It is important to note that Clinton's approval has been in the mid-60s for months, indicating that the current 63 percent figure is a return to his normal levels rather than a sign that he is losing ground among his base of supporters.

Interviews were conducted with 671 Americans on January 6.

Wednesday January 6, 1999

• Poll shows most Americans don't want Senate trial of Clinton
• Senate urged to call Lewinsky, Currie, Jordan as witnesses
• An impeachment trial primer: what you need to know
• New Hampshire poll shows Dole, Bush leading GOP pack
• New speaker calls for end to partisan stalemate
• Getting tickets to watch impeachment trial
• U.S. budget surplus to be larger than expected
• What's ahead for the 106th Congress?
• Transcript: Elizabeth Dole on 'Late Edition'
• Two big-name writers focus on Hillary Clinton
• Text of Speaker Hastert's speech
• Congress convenes, Hastert elected House speaker
• Ex-Sen. Moseley-Braun to advise on school renovation
• Lawmakers debate boosting Medicare's eligibility age

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