Poll: Today's dads doing job well

Father's Day is Sunday

(CNN) -- Being a father is harder than it used to be, but today's dad seems to be handling it well, according to a survey conducted for Father's Day, which is Sunday.

In a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll, 68 percent of those responding said being a father in 1997 is "more difficult" than a generation ago.

But, by about the same margin, people said fathers today are doing the job the same or better than fathers of 20 to 30 years ago.

The nation's "First Dad" came out well in the survey, with 81 percent of the respondents approving of President Clinton as a father.

But that warm feeling didn't necessarily translate into an overall favorable rating. Asked whether Clinton's job as a father made people think more favorably of him, 51 percent said yes while 46 percent said no.

The poll, taken May 30 and June 1, questioned 935 adult Americans. The sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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