Clinton Approval Rating At All-Time High

By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (Jan. 16) -- A new CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup poll finds President Bill Clinton's approval rating riding high as he prepares to begin his second term. A full 62 percent -- an all-time high for Clinton -- approve of the way he is doing his job, with only 32 percent disapproving.

One reason: half the public is satisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time, the first time that has happened since the end of the Persian Gulf War, and double the public's satisfaction just a year ago.

The Republican Congress is also looking good. Its approval rating of 41 percent is the highest it has been in this decade.

The poll of 1,005 adults was conducted Jan. 10-13, 1997, and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Full details:

Clinton Approval Rating

Approve Disapprove

62% 31

Clinton Approval Rating

1993 1994 1995 1996 Now	49% 46 47 56 62
(Yearly averages)

Congressional Approval Rating

Approve Disapprove

41% 49

Congressional Approval Rating

1993 1994 1995 1996 Now	25% 26 32 35 41
(Yearly averages)

Satisfied With the Way Things Are Going in U.S.?

Yes No

50% 47

Satisfied With the Way Things Are Going in U.S.

1993 1994 1995 1996 Now	28% 33 29 40 50
(Yearly averages)

How does Clinton's approval rating compare to previous presidents as they prepared to start a new term? Clinton's 62 percent is identical to the figure Ronald Reagan posted in mid-January 1985, and puts him in a statistical tie with Franklin Roosevelt as FDR began his third term in 1941. Clinton's approval is somewhat lower than Harry Truman's in 1949 and Dwight Eisenhower's in 1957, but is far higher than the 51 percent figure Richard Nixon posted at the start of his second term in 1973.

Historical Approval Ratings

Clinton, 1997 Reagan, 1985 Nixon, 1973 Eisenhower, 1957 Truman, 1949 Roosevelt, 1941

62% 62 51 73 69 64

But the last four years have taken their toll on Clinton. Four years ago, half the public said that the phrase "cares about the needs of people like you" strongly applied to Clinton. Today, only 34 percent say that. Half the public also said that the phrase "inspires confidence" strongly applied to Clinton just after his first inauguration; today only one-third feel that way. Fewer Americans also strongly believe that Clinton is honest and trustworthy or that he shares their values.

Which Statements Strongly Apply to Clinton?

Cares about you Inspires confidence Shares your values Honest and trustworthy

Now 34% 33 25 21

Jan. 1993 50% 51 36 34

Then why are Clinton's rating so high? Because the public's satisfaction with the state of the nation has dramatically improved since Clinton's first inauguration in a number of different areas. The state of the nation's economy satisfies 58 percent of those surveyed, more than double the number who felt that way in January 1993. Americans are also more satisfied with the protection of the environment, the opportunity for a poor person to get ahead by working hard, and the availability and affordability of health care. The public has seen less progress in the state of race relations, the quality of education, and the opportunity for the next generation of Americans to live better than their parents.

Satisfaction With Economy

Now 58%

January 1993 25

Satisfaction With State of Nation

Environment Economy Poverty Health care

Now 63% 58 50 41

Jan. 1993 52% 25 42 23

Americans are confident that Bill Clinton can keep the country out of war in the next four years and secure the nation's long-term economic future. They are less confident, however, that Clinton can reduce the deficit, avoid a tax increase for middle-income people, and reform the political system. Confidence in Clinton's ability to reform politics has dropped substantially in the last four years, but confidence in his ability to avoid a tax hike has gone up somewhat.

Confident That Clinton Can...

...Keep out of war ...Secure economic future ...Reduce deficit ...Avoid tax hike ...Reform political system

Now 68% 57 47 43 37

Jan.1993 61% 61 43 33 51

One problem for Clinton: a majority of the public thinks that Clinton was had some personal responsibility for obtaining the Democratic campaign contributions which may have been illegal. Over a fifth of them, 22 percent, say Clinton had a great deal of personal responsibility for obtaining those controversial contributions; 37 percent say he had a moderate amount of personal responsibility.

Was Clinton Personally Responsible For Campaign Contributions?

Yes No

59% 37

Since Clinton's inauguration will occur on Martin Luther King Day, the poll asked whether the public thinks King's goals have been achieved. Only a quarter say that all of most of the goals of Dr. King and the civil rights movement have been achieved; 61 percent say only some of those goals have been achieved, and 9 percent say almost none of them have been achieved.

How Many of King's Goals Have Been Achieved?

All/most Only some Almost none	26% 61 9
Sampling error: +/- 5% pts

Other Polls:

• President Clinton Is America's Most Admired Man (12/30/97)
• Americans Support U.S. Role In Bosnia (12/22/97)
• Reno Should Have Appointed Independent Counsel (12/3/97)
• Americans Want Independant Counsel (11/24/97)
• Virginia Exit Poll: Governor's Race (11/6/97)
• New Jersey Exit Poll: Governor's Race (11/4/97)
• New York City Exit Poll: Mayor's Race (11/4/97)
• Clinton, Gore Approval Ratings Rise (10/30/97)
• America's Leaders Like America's Course (10/13/97)
• Americans Want Campaign Reform (9/29/97)
• Bad, Good News For Gore (9/12/97)
• Congress Returns With High Approval Rating (8/28/97)
• More Americans Want Jones vs. Clinton Settled Out Of Court (8/14/97)
• Credit For Balanced Budget Deal Goes To GOP (8/1/97)
• Clinton, GOP Deserve Credit For Budget (7/28/97)
• GOP Congress Out Of Touch, Favors Wealthy (6/30/97)
• People Still Care About Washington Scandals (6/3/97)
• High Court Correct On Jones Case (6/2/97)
• Public Supports Budget Deal By 2-1 Margin (5/8/97)
• Few Americans Volunteer Regularly (4/25/97)
• Most Say No To Wheelchair In F.D.R. Memorial (4/24/97)
• Clinton's Approval Suffering Little (4/21/97)
• Majority Says Gingrich Loan 'Inappropriate' (4/18/97)
• Clinton's Approval Rating Remains High (3/27/97)
• Gore's Poll Numbers Dip (3/14/97)
• WSJ/NBC Poll On Fund-Raising (3/13/97)
• Is Clinton's Honeymoon Ending? (2/27/97)
• Americans Are Split On Clinton's Fund-Raising Tactics (2/27/97)
• For 2000, Powell's No. 1 With GOP Voters (2/21/97)
• President's Approval Rating Stays At High Levels (2/8/97)
• New Yorkers Strongly Support Pataki (2/7/97)
• Public Confidence High In Clinton On Most Issues (2/7/97)
• Clinton Rides High On Issues Public Cares About Most (2/3/97)
• Clinton Approval Rating At All-Time High (1/16/97)
• Polls - Campaign '96