WASHINGTON (January 22) -- As the Senate approaches a possible vote on whether to dismiss the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, the American public has some advice for the senators: End the trial as soon as possible, and don't call witnesses, a new CNN/TIME poll shows.

Once the Senate's question-and-answer session concludes, the Senate is scheduled to vote on a motion to immediately end the trial. Fifty-eight percent of those questioned say they want the Senate to stop the trial at that point. Only 36 percent want the trial to proceed.

If the motion to dismiss fails, the Senate is then scheduled to vote on whether to receive testimony from witnesses. Fifty-six percent of the public thinks the Senate should not hear such testimony.

The public is split on the question of whether the entire Senate trial, including testimony and debate among senators, should be shown live on television. According to the new poll, 46 percent want it all televised; 49 percent do not.

A majority of Americans, continue to oppose removing Clinton from office, the poll indicates. Six-two percent do not want the president stripped of his office and 66 percent approve of the way Clinton is handling his job as president.

One reason for Clinton's high approval rating: 78 percent of the public thinks that things are going well in the country. That rating is higher than any time during the Reagan Administration, and even higher than public satisfaction immediately after the Persian Gulf War.

In the 25 years since CNN's polling partner, Yankelovich, first asked that question, the only time when public satisfaction has been higher was just after Clinton's State of the Union speech a year ago.

The poll was conducted from January 20-21, 1999 and includes interviews with 1,024 adult Americans. In most questions, the sampling error is +/- three percentage points.

Now that the first phase of the impeachment trial is coming to an end, the Senate is about to vote on whether or not to proceed with the trial. Once the first phase of the trial is complete, do you think the Senate should vote to end the trial at that time or should it vote to proceed with the trial?

Yes        58%
No         36%

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

Once the first phase of the trial is complete, do you think the Senate should Senate hear testimony from witnesses, or don't you think so?

Yes       40%
No        56

Do you think all of the Senate trial proceedings should be shown live on TV, including the testimony of witnesses and debate among senators, or don't you think so?

Yes       46% 
No        49 

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

Based on what you have read or heard, do you believe the Senate should remove President Clinton from office, or don't you feel that way?

Yes       35%
No        62

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

In general, do you approve or disapprove of the way President Bill Clinton is handling his job as president?

Approve     66%
Disapprove  31

How well do you think things are going in the country these days?

Very/Fairly Well     78%
Not well             22 

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

Clinton's State of the Union speech

What long-term effect did Clinton's State of the Union speech have on public opinion? After last year's address, Clinton's ratings rose and never came down. But any positive effect from this year's speech seems to have been only temporary -- more like the "bounce" polls traditionally show after a State of the Union or a political convention.

Clinton's approval rating in early January was 67 percent. The latest TIME/CNN poll shows, today, it is 66 percent. The number of people opposed to removing Clinton from office stands at 62 percent, the same as in early January.

The State of the Union speech did have one effect -- the number who say that things are going very well or fairly well in the country today has risen by 4 percentage points (although that pales in comparison to the 11-point rise after Clinton's 1998 speech).

None of this is bad news for the White House -- a 66 percent approval rating is robust and, indeed, leaves little room for improvement. But the poll indicates that this year's speech was not as wildly received by the public as last year's.

In general, do you approve or disapprove of the way President Bill Clinton is handling his job as president?

January 7      67% 
January 20-21  66

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

Based on what you have read or heard, do you believe the Senate should remove President Clinton from office, or don't you feel that way?

January 7       62%
January 20-21   62*

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

How well do you think things are going in the country these days?

Very/Fairly Well
January 7       74%
January 20-21   78

Sampling error: +/-3% pts

Looking ahead to 2000

Now that he has announced his intention to run for president in 2000, where does former Vice President Dan Quayle stand in his quest for the GOP nomination?

He currently places third among potential Republican candidates, behind Gov. George W. Bush and Elizabeth Dole. Granted, it is a distant third -- Bush's support is four times higher than Quayle's, and Dole's is nearly double.

Thinking ahead to the year 2000, if you were asked to vote for a Republican nominee for president today, which of the following Republicans would you vote for?

George W. Bush       42%
Elizabeth Dole       21
Dan Quayle           11
Steve Forbes          5
John McCain           4
Lamar Alexander       2
John Kasich           2
Bob Smith           less than 1%
Gary Bauer          less than 1%

Sampling error: +/-5% pts

Friday, January 22, 1999

• Senators' questions break along party lines
• Sens. Byrd and Hatch offer plans to end trial early
• Poll: Most Americans want impeachment trial to end soon
• Checking the facts of the opening statements
• The senators' trial questions
• Transcript: Senators question impeachment lawyers
• Clinton proposes anti-terrorism plan
• Conservative presidential hopefuls slam Gov. Bush
• Draft proposal on Medicare changes unveiled
• Rehnquist at impeachment trial more easygoing than usual
• DeLay says Republicans to benefit from impeachment
• Hastert: HMO bills will move this year
• Prosecutors accuse Democratic fund-raiser Trie of passport scam

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