Poll: Americans Support Clinton's Trip To China
Death of the tobacco bill won't have much impact on '98 election
By Keating Holland/CNN
WASHINGTON (June 24) -- Americans support President Bill Clinton's decision to visit China but they are skeptical that his visit will have any significant effect, and Clinton's ratings on foreign policy continue to slide, according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.
The public does not think Clinton should criticize China's human rights policies during his visit, and have become less concerned with human rights than last fall. Most Americans have an unfavorable view of China; only 39 percent have a favorable view of that country.
A majority -- 58 percent -- approve of Clinton's decision to visit China, but only 42 percent say the trip will significantly improve Sino-American relations, and only one in five believe it will improve China's treatment of its citizens.
Indeed, most Americans don't want Clinton to address the issue of human rights while he is in Beijing. One reason: Americans are split over whether the U.S. should link human rights to trade with China if that would hurt American interests; last October a majority said that human rights and trade should be linked even if it hurt the U.S. economy.
The trip comes at a tricky time for Clinton.
Only 40 percent approve of how he is handling relations with China, and a bare majority -- 53 percent -- approve of how he is handling foreign affairs in general. That figure has dropped 10 points in just two months, while his overall approval rating has dipped only slightly (63 percent in April to 60 percent today) in the same time span.
Americans are split over Taiwan, with 46 percent saying the U.S. should not use its military forces to defend Taiwan if China attacked, and 42 percent approving of the U.S. defending Taiwan from the Chinese.
The survey of 1,016 adult Americans was conducted June 22-23, 1998 and has a sampling margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
Clinton's Decision To Visit China |
Approve Disapprove | 58% 32% |
Will Clinton's Visit Significantly Improve... |
Relations with China Human rights in China |
Yes 42% 20% |
No 48% 70% |
Opinion of China |
Favorable Unfavorable | 39% 51% |
During Visit, Should Clinton Criticize China's Human Rights Policy? |
Yes No | 43% 51% |
Should U.S. Link Trade With China's Human Rights? |
Now Oct. 1997 |
Yes 57% 55% |
No 45% 36% |
How Clinton is Handling Relations With China |
Approve Disapprove | 40% 37% |
Clinton's Approval Rating On Foreign Affairs |
Now April | 53% 63% |
Clinton's Overall Approval Rating |
Now April | 60% 63% |
Despite calls for Attorney General Janet Reno to fire Independent Counsel Ken Starr for leaking to the news media, the public does not support such a move. Only 39 percent would like to see Reno fire Starr; almost half say that Reno should let Starr continue his investigations.
This should not be read as newfound public support for Starr's investigation -- it is merely evidence that the public does not favor action against Starr by a member of the administration which he is investigating.
Should Janet Reno Fire Ken Starr? |
Yes No | 39% 49% |
The death of the tobacco bill in the Senate last week is not likely to have a large effect on the congressional elections this fall, in part because the public has become convinced that the now-dormant legislation was mostly a tax-and-spend bill.
Half say the bill which did not survive a cloture vote last week was mostly a bill to provide money for government spending by raising taxes; only 41percent say it was mostly an attempt to reduce teen smoking.
Seventy-eight percent say that their vote in November would be unaffected if Congress did not pass any tobacco legislation this year. And 12 percent say that the death of tobacco legislation would make them more likely to vote Democratic, and 7 percent say it would make them more likely to vote Republican.
Senate Tobacco Bill Was Mostly An Attempt To... |
Tax and spend Reduce teen smoking | 50% 41% |
If Congress Did Not Pass Any Tobacco Bill, More Likely To... |
Vote Democratic Vote Republican No effect on vote | 12% 7% 78% |
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