WASHINGTON (January 11) -- With the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton scheduled to get underway this week, nearly two-thirds of the American public does not want to see Clinton removed from office, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Why? It's not because Americans disbelieve the charges he was impeached on: 79 percent say he committed perjury about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky in front of Ken Starr's grand jury. And 53 percent say that he obstructed justice by trying to influence the testimony of Lewinsky, Betty Currie and others.

But a majority say that neither charge is serious enough to justify Clinton's removal from office by the Senate.

Though 65 percent say that Clinton will get a fair trial in the Senate, 63 percent predict that the Republicans and Democrats will mostly fight with each other, rather than cooperate.

That impression seems to be hurting the public's impression of Senate Republicans -- only 36 percent approve of how the Senate GOP is handling the impeachment trial, compared to 53 percent who approve of how the Democrats in the Senate are handling the matter. That is an indication that Friday's bipartisan lovefest did not have a serious effect on public opinion.

Don't forget another critical component of Clinton's high standing with the public -- the economy. Not only do 89 percent of all Americans think the economy is in good shape, but the number who think the economy is very good has jumped from 29 percent in July to 41 percent today.

As a result, Clinton's approval rating is now 67 percent. However, a majority say they do not respect Clinton.

The survey of 1,014 adult Americans was conducted January 8-10, 1999 and has a margin of sampling error of +/- three percentage points.

Monday January 11, 1999

• White House, prosecutors offer dueling pre-trial memos
• Two Democratic senators push to open closed-door impeachment proceedings
• Document: Clinton answers Senate summons
• Document: Trial memorandum submitted by the House managers
• Clinton plans to give State of the Union speech as scheduled
• White House looking at surplus to build retirement savings accounts
• Poll: Strong majority do not want Clinton removed from office
• A descendant's view of impeachment history
• RNC member asks party to cut ties to gambling industry
• Judge to investigate Babbitt
• Old political foes feud in South Dakota
• Monica Monica mulls House run
• IRS opens web site for problems
• Reno becomes second longest-serving attorney general
• Supreme Court allows anti-abortion posters
• Justices OK New York crackdown on strip shops
• Administration readies open-spaces preservation plan
• High court to review law limiting benefits to new residents

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