ad info

CNN.com
 MAIN PAGE
 WORLD
 ASIANOW
 U.S.
 U.S. LOCAL
 ALLPOLITICS
  TIME
  analysis
  community
 WEATHER
 BUSINESS
 SPORTS
 TECHNOLOGY
 NATURE
 ENTERTAINMENT
 BOOKS
 TRAVEL
 FOOD
 HEALTH
 STYLE
 IN-DEPTH

 custom news
 Headline News brief
 daily almanac
 CNN networks
 on-air transcripts
 news quiz

 CNN WEB SITES:
CNN Websites
 TIME INC. SITES:
 MORE SERVICES:
 video on demand
 video archive
 audio on demand
 news email services
 free email accounts
 desktop headlines
 pointcast
 pagenet

 DISCUSSION:
 message boards
 chat
 feedback

 SITE GUIDES:
 help
 contents
 search

 FASTER ACCESS:
 europe
 japan

 WEB SERVICES:
 TIME on politics Congressional Quarterly CNN/AllPolitics CNN/AllPolitics - Storypage, with TIME and Congressional Quarterly

Poll: Clinton scandal has not taught young Americans it's OK to lie

By Keating Holland/CNN

February 17, 1999
Web posted at: 5:03 p.m. EST (2203 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, February 17) -- Although adults worry about the effect of the Monica Lewinsky scandal on the nation's children, 11- to 17-year-olds say President Bill Clinton's behavior has not taught them it is OK to lie or break the law, according to a new CNN poll.


Also in this poll:

Scandal's impact on political future
What questions will candidates face?
Views on government largely unchanged

Nor have young Americans turned cynical about government or public officials as a result of the impeachment process, though only a quarter of them want to grow up to be president.

According to the poll, 11- to 17-year-olds are tougher on Clinton than adults are. Nearly half of them think he should have been removed from office, compared to only a third of adults. A majority have an unfavorable view of Clinton, while most adults think favorably of him.

But opinions of Clinton have not spilled over into young Americans' views of government. More than half of 11- to 17-year-olds say the federal government can be trusted to do what is right most or all of the time -- only a third of adults share that sunny view -- and only a third of all youths say most public officials are liars.

RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Brooks Jackson takes a closer look at how polls are taken
Windows Media 28K 80K

What about the Lewinsky scandal's effect on youth views of right and wrong? Most adults think Clinton's behavior has made children feel that you can sometimes lie and get away with it. Adults also think Clinton's behavior has made children feel that important people can break the law and get away with it.

But here's the good news: 11- to 17-year-olds report that Clinton's behavior has not affected them that way. Only 40 percent say his behavior has made them feel that lying is OK. And only 42 percent say Clinton has taught them that influential people can get away with breaking the law.

One reason is that 11- to 17-year-olds do not consider presidents or other elected officials to be role models. That honor falls to sports stars, entertainers and, topping the list, parents.

Where did young Americans get their information on the Lewinsky scandal? Eighty-three percent say the issue was raised by their teachers. By contrast, only half say their parents discussed issues raised by Clinton or the impeachment process.

The survey of 1,022 adult Americans and 305 youths ages 11 to 17 was conducted on February 4-8 by the Gallup Organization. The questions have a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points, unless otherwise indicated.

Here are the questions and results:

Do you think that the Senate should have voted to remove Bill Clinton from office?

                      11-to-17
             Adults   Year Olds
Yes           36%       47%
No            62%       50%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Please tell me whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Bill Clinton.

                        11-to-17
              Adults    Year Olds
Favorable      55%         43%
Unfavorable    44%         53%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

How much of the time do you think you can trust government in Washington to do what is right -- just about always, most of the time or only some of the time?

                                 11-to-17
                       Adults    Year Olds
All/most of the time    34%        55%
Only some of the time   64%        44%

Sampling error: +/-6 percentage points

Do you personally think most public officials today are liars, or do you not feel this way?

 
                        11-to-17
              Adults    Year Olds

Yes             55%       34%
No              41%       62%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Thinking about the possible effects on children of Clinton's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky and impeachment matters, do you think Clinton's behavior has made children feel that ...

                             Adults
They can get away with lying   68%
VIPs can break the law         60%
Breaking the law is OK       47%

Has Bill Clinton's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky and impeachment matters made you feel that ...

                              11-17 
                             year olds
You can get away with lying     40%
VIPs can break the law          42%
Breaking the law is OK         7%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Thinking about the possible effects on children of Clinton's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky and impeachment matters, do you think Clinton's behavior has made children feel that you can sometimes lie and get away with it?

            Adults

Yes           68%
No            30%

Has Bill Clinton's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky and impeachment matters made you feel that you can sometimes lie and get away with it?

             11-17 year olds

Yes             40%
No              59%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Would you like to see any of your children grow up to be President of the United States someday, or not?

             Adults
Yes            45%
No             55%

Would you, personally, like to grow up to be President of the United States someday, or not?

             11-17 year olds
Yes              26%
No               72%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Please tell me whether each of the following are people you, personally, look up to as role models in your life. How about ...

                 11-to-17
                 Year Olds
Parents            94%
Teachers           77%
Friends            72%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Please tell me whether each of the following are people you, personally, look up to as role models in your life. How about ...

                 11-to-17
                 Year Olds
Sports stars       65%
Entertainers       61%
Elected officials  41%
The President      34%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Have the allegations concerning Bill Clinton or the impeachment process been brought up by your parents or teachers?

                11-to-17
                Year Olds
Your teachers      83%
Your parents       52%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Scandal's impact on political future

What effect will the events of the last year have on the politics of the future?

Fifty-three percent of 11- to 17-year-olds have a favorable view of the Democratic party, compared to the 41 percent who have a favorable view of the GOP.

Nonetheless, most 11- to 17-year-olds don't identify with either party. And more than half -- 57 percent -- say they are independents; only a fifth say they are Democrats or Republicans.

Please tell me whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party.

                 11-to-17
                 Year Olds
Favorable          53%
Unfavorable        22%
Unsure             25%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

Please tell me whether you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party.

                 11-to-17
                 Year Olds
Favorable          41%
Unfavorable        34%
Unsure             25%

Sampling error: +/- 6 percentage points

What questions will candidates face?

Note: The poll questions from this point forward were asked of adults only.

The public's view of the media has actually improved since last January, but half the country still believes that the media acted irresponsibly in the Lewinsky matter and that the media are out of touch with average Americans.

What do Americans want to know about future presidential candidates? They draw the line at sex: 65 percent say it is not necessary for the public to know if a candidate has had extramarital affairs, and 61 percent say it is not necessary for the public to know whether a candidate is a homosexual.

But most Americans think it is necessary for the public to know if a candidate were an alcoholic, a tax cheat or someone who had been accused of sexual harassment. They are split on whether it is necessary to know whether the candidate had used drugs in the past.

Overall, do you feel the news media have acted responsibly or irresponsible in this matter?

                  Jan.
          Now     1998
Yes       48%      37%
No        50%      55%

Do you think the media are out of touch with average Americans, or are they generally in touch?

          Now     1995
Yes       48%      60%
No        50%      38%

Now I'm going to read some issues a person might have in their life. For each one, please say if that is the kind of thing the American public would need to know about a presidential candidate in order to evaluate him or her, or whether it would not be necessary for the public to know about that issue. Please keep in mind that these are not meant to describe any particular candidates, but are just hypothetical issues. How about ...

                         Yes    No
Has cheated on taxes     84%    15%
Is an alcoholic          79%    21%
Was accused of           75%    24%
  sexual harassment

Now I'm going to read some issues a person might have in their life. For each one, please say if that is the kind of thing the American public would need to know about a presidential candidate in order to evaluate him or her, or whether it would not be necessary for the public to know about that issue. Please keep in mind that these are not meant to describe any particular candidates, but are just hypothetical issues. How about ...

                          Yes   No
Had used drugs in past    53%   46%
Is a homosexual           38%   61%
Had affairs               34%   65%

Now that the impeachment process has concluded, what does the public have to say about the events of the past year? Most Americans say that the country would not have been better off if Clinton had resigned a year ago and prevented the impeachment process from happening.

In your view, would the country have been better off or not, if Clinton had resigned a year ago and prevented the impeachment process from happening?

Yes         43% 
No          54%

Views on government largely unchanged

What effect has the impeachment process and the Monica Lewinsky scandal had on the public's view of government? None at all, particularly in comparison to Watergate.

The number of Americans who had confidence in the presidency dropped from 73 percent in 1972 to just 40 percent in April 1974. By contrast, there was almost no movement between December 1997 -- pre-Lewinsky days when 62 percent had confidence in the presidency -- to now, when 64 percent do.

In the same vein, the number of Americans who thought that the federal government could be trusted to do what is right all or most of the time dropped from 53 percent in 1972 to just 36 percent in 1974.

In June 1997 (agin, pre-Lewinsky), 32 percent of the public trusted the federal government to do what's right all or most of the time. Now 34 percent do. Trust in government is anemic, but it has not dropped during Clinton's time of trouble in the way that it did during Watergate.

Do you have confidence at this time in the executive branch of government headed by the president?

1972      73%
1974      40%

1997      62%
Now       64%

Do you think you can trust government in Washington to do what is right all or most of the time?

1972         53%
1974         36%

1997         32%
Now          34%

Do you feel generally optimistic or pessimistic about our system of government and how well it works as far as the future is concerned?

Optimistic       53%
Pessimistic      19%

Investigating the President

MORE STORIES:

Wednesday, February 17, 1999

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


© 1999 Cable News Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
Who we are.