Poll: Only a Third Thinks Clinton Honest

By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (Jan. 26) -- Only a third of all Americans think that President Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy, and most believe he does not show good judgment, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Nonetheless, 70 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy, 62 percent give him high marks on the budget deficit, and 58 percent like how he is handling foreign policy.

That is one good reason why Clinton's overall approval rating remains high {currently at 60 percent] despite the growing controversy concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. His high marks on the issues may also explain why Clinton reportedly will concentrate on such issues in his State of the Union speech tomorrow.

And despite the scandal, Clinton continues to hold an advantage over the GOP. Forty-nine percent of the public say that they want Clinton to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in the next year than the Republicans in Congress. Just 40 percent want the GOP to have more influence than Clinton.

Most Americans don't believe that Clinton shares their values, but they do think he is tough enough for the job and that he can get things done.

The poll of 874 adult Americans was conducted Saturday and Sunday and has a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points.

Here are the numbers:

Vice President Al Gore's approval rating is even higher than Clinton's. Fully 65 percent of the public approves of how Gore is handling his job as vice president. A surprisingly high number of Americans also approve of how Newt Gingrich is handling his job as speaker of the House; 46 percent approve of how the Georgia Republican is handling his job, a 19-point gain over the past year. Gingrich's gain, however, is entirely unrelated to the investigations into Clinton's personal life.

Below are updated figures for survey results first released on Sunday:

Monday Jan. 26, 1998

• Lewinsky Has Spoken
• White House Crisis Spawns Media Feeding Frenzy
• First Lady Ignores Scandal During Visit to N.Y. School
• Business As Usual At White House, Officials Say
• Lewinsky Allegations Overshadow State Of The Union
• Hatch Sees Resignation Probable Should Charges be Proven
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Starr Said To Be Using Tested Tactic Against Ex-intern
• Allegations Of Previous Affair, Forgery Haunt Lewinsky

Poll:
• Only A Third Thinks Clinton Honest
• Clinton Wrong, But Should Stay In Office