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Clinton's Approval Rating Remains High

Public weighs in on Gingrich, Gore, taxes and campaign fund-raising

By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 27) -- President Bill Clinton's approval rating remains relatively high, while House Speaker Newt Gingrich's has hit another all-time low. But four in 10 Americans think that neither the president nor the Republican leaders in Congress have a clear plan for solving the country's problems, according to a new poll.

In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey released today, the number of Americans who approve of the job that Al Gore is doing as vice president is identical to Clinton's approval rating, emphasizing how much Gore's future is tied to Clinton's. Neither Clinton nor Gore appear to be seriously damaged by the campaign fund-raising controversy so far.

Clinton's approval rating has actually risen slightly from a month ago, the probable result of a successful summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. One indication of that is the number of Americans who approve of how Clinton is handling foreign affairs is back over 50 percent, a five-point gain since late February.

The survey was taken March 24-26, and for the entire sample of 1,009 people, it has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Approval Ratings
Clinton
Gore
Gingrich
59%
59%
25%

Who Has Clear Plan for Solving Country's Problems?
Clinton
GOP
Both
Neither
15%
12%
29%
41%

Approve of How Clinton Is Handling Foreign Policy
Now
Feb. 24-26
51%
46%

Taxes

Should the Republicans postpone their attempts to include tax cuts in their overall plan to reduce the budget deficit? Only one in five Americans think so, and a majority now believes that tax cuts and deficit reduction can be accomplished at the same time.

With tax time approaching, how do Americans feel about their overall tax bill? Fifty-eight percent say the amount of federal income tax they have to pay is too high, although that is down from 64 percent who felt that way last spring. Yet a majority feel that the income tax they will have to pay this year is fair.

Should GOP Postpone Tax Cuts in Budget Plan?
Yes
No
21%
70%

Can Accomplish Tax Cuts and Deficit Reduction At Same Time
Yes
No
52%
42%

Your Federal Income Tax Is Too High
Now
1996
58%
64%

Amount of Income Tax You Will Have to Pay
Fair
Not fair
51%
43%

Fund-Raising Flap

Only one in five Americans believes that Clinton's fund-raising activities were illegal, and two-thirds do not feel that the fund-raising controversy is so serious that it makes them doubt Clinton's ability to run the country. By contrast, only bare majorities felt that way about Ronald Reagan during the Iran-Contra affair.

But the public is split over whether Clinton is trying to cover up what he really did in his fund-raising activities or cooperating as much as possible in letting the public know about those activities. Forty-six percent feel he is cooperating; 46 percent feel he is covering something up.

And only 44 percent say Clinton is honest and trustworthy, although 55 percent say he is honest and trustworthy enough to be president. Neither of those figures has changed since 1996, further evidence that the fund-raising controversy has not affected public views of Clinton.

Clinton's Fund-Raising Activities
Illegal
Unethical
Nothing wrong
21%
42%
31%

Doubts About Clinton's Ability to Run Country?
Yes
No
28%
68%

Is Clinton Covering Up Fund-Raising Information?
Yes
No
46%
46%

Is Clinton Honest and Trustworthy?
Yes
No
44%
51%

Is Clinton Honest and Trustworthy Enough To Be President?
Yes
No
55%
41%


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


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