February 10, 1999
Web posted at: 5:07 p.m. EDT (1707 GMT)

WASHINGTON (February 10) -- If President Bill Clinton is not convicted by the Senate, most Americans would want their U.S. senators to vote in favor of a resolution to formally censure Clinton for his actions in the Monica Lewinsky affair, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

Only a third of the country approves of the way the Senate is handling the impeachment trial, down from 45 percent in January. But the public continues to think that Clinton is getting a fair trial.

Americans are split on the Senate's decision Tuesday to hold its final deliberations behind closed doors; 50 percent approve of that decision while 47 percent disapprove.

Two-thirds of the country think that the Republican House prosecutors who presented the case against Clinton did a good job. But an even larger number think that Clinton's defense lawyers also did a good job.

What kind of censure would the public find acceptable? Most Americans say they would not accept a censure resolution which condemns Clinton's behavior but does not state that he committed any crimes. But 51 percent say a censure resolution that states that Clinton committed crimes would be acceptable.

On the eve of the Senate vote to remove him from office, Clinton is more popular than former President Ronald Reagan ever was. Clinton's approval rating, now at 70 percent, is better than Reagan's highest approval rating. Only 31 percent want their U.S. senators to vote to convict Clinton and remove him from office.

The survey of 711 adult Americans was conducted February 9, and has a margin of sampling error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Here are the questions and results:

What do you want your senators to do -- vote in favor of convicting Clinton and removing him from office or vote against convicting Clinton so he will remain in office? And if the Senate votes not to convict and remove Bill Clinton from office, how would you want the senators from your state to vote on a possible resolution to formally censure Bill Clinton for his actions in this matter?

Regardless of your view on whether Clinton should be removed from office, do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Senate is handling the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton?

So far, do you think Bill Clinton has or has not gotten a fair trial in the Senate?

After the prosecution and defense finished publicly presenting both sides in the Clinton impeachment case, the Senate voted to conduct their final deliberations in private, with no members of the public or media present. Do you approve or disapprove of the Senate's decision to conduct its final deliberations in private?

Next we'd like you to rate the job done by each side in the Clinton impeachment trial. Have they done a very good job, a good job, a poor job or a very poor job?

In terms of the wording of a censure resolution that might be passed by the Senate, would a censure which states Clinton committed crimes in the Lewinsky matter be acceptable to you or not?

In terms of the wording of a censure resolution that might be passed by the Senate, would a censure which condemns Clinton's behavior in the Lewinsky matter, but does not state he committed any crimes, be acceptable to you or not?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as president?

Wednesday, February 10, 1999

• Three GOP moderates will vote against conviction
• Transcript: Sen. Harkin criticizes impeachment case
• Poll: Most people want Clinton censured but not convicted
• Hillary Rodham Clinton weighs N.Y. Senate bid
• Major reorganization at Republican National Committee
• Gore hails improved student reading levels
• GOP plays down 10 percent tax cut
• Aides attend secret Senate sessions
• Impeachment saga by the numbers
• Hearing focuses on how to combat wasteful government spending
• Clinton's plan for saving Social Security criticized
• Rave reviews of 'Monica's Story' before it's out
• Censure idea said to be 'wilting'
• Clinton seeks to expand AmeriCorps
• Park service says no putting Reagan on Mount Rushmore

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