Poll: Most Americans Hold Unfavorable Views Of Tripp, Lewinsky

By Keating Holland/CNN

WASHINGTON (July 2) -- Americans have an unfavorable view of Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky and are unsure whether either woman would tell the truth in front of Independent Counsel Ken Starr's grand jury, according to the latest CNN/TIME poll.

Starr himself is also viewed unfavorably, and a majority of Americans believe he has acted irresponsibly. 52 percent have an unfavorable view of Tripp, and as more people have become familiar with her, her unfavorable rating has grown. The country is split, 42 percent to 39 percent, over whether it is likely that Tripp has told the truth to the grand jury.

Lewinsky's unfavorable rating is even higher than Tripp's, and nearly half the public believes she is unlikely to tell the truth should she be called to testify. Lewinsky most likely fares worse on these questions than Tripp largely because more people are familiar with her name.

But Americans have not completely let President Bill Clinton off the hook, as nearly half believe that he too would be unlikely to tell the truth if he wound up testifying in court. Nonetheless, 56 percent of the public has a favorable view of Clinton, virtually unchanged since March.

The survey of 1,024 adult Americans was conducted June 30-July 1, 1998 and has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Opinion of Linda Tripp
Favorable Unfavorable Unfamiliar	Now 12% 52% 36%	March 11% 44% 45%
Has Tripp Told the Truth To the Grand Jury?
Likely Unlikely Unsure	42% 39% 26%
Favorable Ratings
Bill Clinton Ken Starr Linda Tripp Monica Lewinsky	Favorable 56% 22% 12% 12%	Unfavorable 38% 51% 52% 69%
Likely To Tell Truth To Grand Jury?
Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky Linda Tripp	Likely 46% 43% 42%	Unlikely 49% 48% 39%
Has Ken Starr Acted Responsibly?
Yes No	Now 31% 52%	January 43% 43%
Opinion of Monica Lewinsky
Favorable Unfavorable Unfamiliar	Now 12% 69% 19%	March 15% 56% 29%
Opinion of Ken Starr
Favorable Unfavorable Unfamiliar	Now 22% 51% 27%	March 22% 42% 36%
Opinion of Bill Clinton
Favorable Unfavorable Unfamiliar	Now 56% 38% 6%	March 58% 37% 5%

Thursday, July 2, 1998

• Tripp Completes Day Two Of Testimony
• Poll: Most Americans Hold Unfavorable Views Of Tripp, Lewinsky
• Daschle Calls For Probe Into Tobacco, Health Care Ad Campaigns
• Trie's Lawyer Asks Judge To Dismiss Fund-Raising Charges
• HMO Bashing Becoming 'Contagious' In 1998 Campaigns
• Texas Gov. Bush Steps Away From GOP Attacks On Bilingual Education
• Chinese General's Son Blocked From Working On Sale Of Satellite
• Statue To Be Added To The FDR Memorial
• New Documents Show Chung Lobbied Administration For Chinese Oil Firm