Election Controversy Apparently Drove Partisan Wedge Into Attitudes Towards Supreme Court

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A majority of Americans, 59%, currently approve of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job, but the public is sharply divided along party lines when evaluating the nation's highest court -- a pattern markedly different from several months ago. Although the 59% approval rating is down only marginally (3 points) from August, when 62% approved of the nation's highest court, the composition of those approving has changed significantly, suggesting that the Supreme Court's role in ending the controversial Florida recount may have had a major impact on the public's attitudes toward the Court. According to a new Gallup poll conducted January 10-14, Republicans now overwhelmingly approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing (80% approve), in comparison to just 42% of Democrats. In the August poll, a majority of both Republicans and Democrats approved of the court, with Democrats being slightly more positive. At that time, 60% of Republicans and 70% of Democrats said they approved of the way the Court was handling its job. Judicial involvement in the presidential election has apparently had less of an impact on independents, 54% of whom say they approve of the Court today, little changed from the 57% who approved in August.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job?

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion

	%	%	%
National Adults
2001 Jan 10-14	59	34	7

2000 Aug 29-Sep 5	62	29	9

Republicans
2001 Jan 10-14	80	15	5
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5	60	35	5

Independents
2001 Jan 10-14	54	38	8
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5	57	34	9

Democrats
2001 Jan 10-14	42	50	8
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5	70	18	12

Bill Clinton's Final Approval Rating Remains High
Gallup has recorded Bill Clinton's approval rating 253 times since he took office eight years ago. According to the latest poll -- representing the last time Gallup will take this measure on Clinton while he is in office -- 66% of Americans approve of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as president and 29% disapprove. As is now the case for the Supreme Court, this presidential evaluation is highly partisan (as it has been throughout Clinton's presidency); 93% of Democrats say they approve of Clinton -- just 39% of Republicans approve. Fifty-five percent of Republicans say they disapprove, compared to 48% of Democrats.

107^th Congress Gets Mixed Reviews in First Approval Rating
Fifty percent of Americans currently approve of the way Congress is handling its job, while 40% disapprove and 10% have no opinion. Congress has suffered a very slight setback in the public's eye over the past 6 weeks -- in early December, 56% of the public said they approved of Congress. Approval of the legislative branch of government is less partisan than of the executive and judicial branches. Fifty-five percent of Republicans approve of the job Congress is doing, compared to 48% of Democrats. Thirty-seven percent of Republicans disapprove, as do 41% of Democrats.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 national adults, aged 18+, conducted January 10-14, 2001. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job as president?

	Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion		Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion

	%	%	%		%	%	%
2001
01 Jan 10-14	66	29	5	99 Feb 19-21	66	30	4
				99 Feb 12-13	68	30	2
01 Jan 5-7	65	31	4	99 Feb 9	70	27	3
				99 Feb 4-8	65	33	2
2000				99 Jan 27	67	31	2
00 Dec 15-17	66	32	2	99 Jan 22-24	69	29	2
00 Dec 2-4	60	35	5	99 Jan 15-17	69	29	2
00 Nov 13-15	63	33	4	99 Jan 8-10	67	30	3
00 Oct 25-28	57	38	5	99 Jan 6	63	34	3
00 Oct 6-9	58	37	5	1998
00 Sep 11-13	60	34	6	98 Dec 19-20	73	25	2
00 Aug 29-Sep 3	62	35	3	98 Dec 15-16	63	33	4
00 Aug 18-19	62	35	3	98 Dec 12-13	64	34	2
00 Aug 11-12	58	39	3	98 Dec 4-6	66	30	4
00 Aug 4-5	57	40	3	98 Nov 20-22	66	30	4
00 Jul 25-26	57	39	4	98 Nov 13-15	66	31	3
00 Jul 14-15	59	37	4	98 Oct 29-Nov 1	66	30	4
00 Jul 6-9	59	36	5	98 Oct 23-25	65	32	3
00 Jun 22-25	55	40	5	98 Oct 9-12	65	32	3
00 Jun 6-7	60	36	4	98 Oct 6-7	63	34	3
00 May 18-21	57	37	6	98 Sep 23-24	66	31	3
00 May 5-7	57	36	7	98 Sep 21	66	31	3
00 Apr 28-30	59	39	2	98 Sep 20	60	34	6
00 Mar 30-Apr 2	62	34	4	98 Sep 14-15	63	35	2
00 Mar 17-19	56	39	5	98 Sep 11-12	63	34	3
00 Mar 10-12	63	34	3	98 Sep 10	60	37	3
00 Feb 25-27	57	39	4	98 Sep 1	62	33	5
00 Feb 14-15	62	34	4	98 Aug 21-23	62	35	3
00 Feb 4-6	63	33	4	98 Aug 20	61	34	5
00 Jan 25-26	64	32	4	98 Aug 18	66	29	5
00 Jan 17-20	62	35	3	98 Aug 17	62	32	6
00 Jan 13-16	59	37	4	98 Aug 10-12	65	30	5
00 Jan 7-10	63	35	2	98 Aug 7-8	64	32	4
1999				98 Jul 29	65	31	4
99 Dec 20-21	57	36	7	98 Jul 13-14	63	31	6
99 Dec 9-12	56	41	3	98 Jul 7-8	61	34	5
99 Nov 18-21	59	36	5	98 Jun 22-23	60	34	6
99 Nov 4-7	58	38	4	98 Jun 5-7	60	34	6
99 Oct 21-24	59	36	5	98 May 8-10	64	31	5
99 Oct 8-10	56	39	5	98 Apr 17-19	63	31	6
99 Sep 23-26	59	38	3	98 Apr 1	67	28	5
99 Sep 10-14	60	38	2	98 Mar 20-22	66	28	6
99 August 24-26	60	35	5	98 Mar 16	67	29	4
99 Aug 16-18	59	36	5	98 Mar 6-9	63	31	6
99 Aug 3-4	60	35	5	98 Feb 20-22	66	29	5
99 Jul 22-25	64	31	5	98 Feb 13-15	66	30	4
99 Jul 16-18	58	38	4	98 Jan 30-Feb 1	69	28	3
99 Jul 13-14	59	37	4	98 Jan 25-26	59	37	4
99 Jun 25-27	57	41	2	98 Jan 24-25	60	35	5
99 Jun 11-13	60	37	3	98 Jan 23-24	58	36	6
99 Jun 4-5	60	35	5	98 Jan 16-18	60	30	10
99 May 23-24	53	42	5	98 Jan 6-7	59	32	9
99 May 7-9	60	35	5	1997
99 Apr 30-May 2	60	36	4	97 Dec 18-21	56	36	8
99 Apr 26-27	60	35	5	97 Nov 21-23	61	30	9
99 Apr 13-14	60	36	4	97 Nov 6-9	59	31	10
99 Apr 6-7	59	35	6	97 Oct 27-29	59	32	9
99 Mar 30-31	64	32	4	97 Oct 3-5	55	36	9
99 Mar 19-21	64	33	3	97 Sep 25-28	58	33	9
99 Mar 12-14	62	35	3	97 Sep 6-7	61	28	11
99 Mar 5-7	68	28	4	97 Aug 22-25	60	34	6
99 Feb 26-28	66	31	3

Q.1 CONTINUED

	Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion		Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion

	%	%	%		%	%	%
1997				1994
97 Aug 12-13	61	32	7	94 Dec 28-30	40	52	8
97 Jul 25-27	58	34	8	94 Dec 16-18	42	53	5
97 Jun 26-29	55	36	9	94 Dec 2-5	42	50	8
97 May 30-Jun 1	57	35	8	94 Nov 28-29	43	49	8
97 May 6-7	57	35	8	94 Nov 2-6	46	46	8
97 Apr 18-20	54	37	9	94 Oct 22-25	48	46	6
97 Mar 24-26	59	35	6	94 Oct 18-19	41	52	7
97 Feb 24-26	57	33	10	94 Oct 7-9	42	52	6
97 Jan 30-Feb 2	60	31	9	94 Sep 23-25	44	51	5
97 Jan 10-13	62	31	7	94 Sep 16-18	42	50	8
97 Jan 3-5	58	35	7	94 Sep 6-7	39	54	7
1996				94 Aug 15-16	39	52	9
96 Dec 9-11	58	34	8	94 Aug 8-9	43	48	9
96 Nov 21-24	58	35	7	94 Jul 15-17	42	49	9
96 Oct 26-29	54	36	10	94 Jul 1-3	43	48	9
96 Oct 2-3	57	36	7	94 Jun 25-28	44	47	9
96 Oct 1-2	58	34	8	94 Jun 11-12	49	44	7
96 Sep 7-9	60	31	9	94 Jun 3-6	46	47	7
96 Aug 30-Sep 1	60	33	7	94 May 20-22	51	42	7
96 Aug 23-25	53	39	8	94 Apr 22-24	48	44	8
96 Aug 16-18	52	39	9	94 Apr 16-18	51	41	8
96 Aug 5-7	57	36	7	94 Mar 25-27	52	41	7
96 Jul 25-28	58	35	7	94 Mar 11-13	50	41	9
96 Jul 18-21	57	35	8	94 Mar 7-8	50	42	8
96 Jun 27-30	52	42	6	94 Feb 26-28	53	41	6
96 Jun 18-19	58	37	5	94 Jan 28-30	58	35	7
96 May 28-29	53	38	9	94 Jan 15-17	54	38	8
96 May 9-12	55	39	6	94 Jan 6-8	54	38	8
96 Apr 25-28	56	37	7	1993
96 Apr 9-10	54	40	6	93 Dec 17-19	54	40	6
96 Mar 15-17	52	39	9	93 Dec 4-6	52	38	10
96 Mar 8-10	54	37	9	93 Nov 19-21	48	43	9
96 Feb 23-25	53	40	7	93 Nov 15-16	50	43	7
96 Jan 26-29	52	42	6	93 Nov 2-4	48	45	7
96 Jan 12-15	46	47	7	93 Oct 28-30	48	45	7
96 Jan 5-7	42	49	9	93 Oct 13-18	47	44	9
1995				93 Oct 8-10	50	42	8
95 Dec 15-18	51	44	5	93 Sep 24-26	56	36	8
95 Nov 17-18	53	38	9	93 Sep 13-15	46	43	11
95 Nov 6-8	52	41	7	93 Sep 10-12	47	42	11
95 Oct 19-22	49	40	11	93 Aug 23-25	44	47	9
95 Oct 5-7	46	42	12	93 Aug 8-10	44	48	8
95 Sep 22-24	48	44	8	93 Jul 19-21	41	49	10
95 Sep 14-17	44	44	12	93 Jul 9-11	45	48	7
95 Aug 28-30	46	43	11	93 Jun 29-30	46	47	7
95 Aug 4-7	46	42	12	93 Jun 18-21	39	50	11
95 Jul 20-23	46	44	10	93 Jun 5-6	37	49	14
95 Jul 7-9	48	42	10	93 May 21-23	44	46	10
95 Jun 5-6	47	42	11	93 May 10-12	45	44	11
95 May 11-14	51	42	7	93 Apr 22-24	55	37	8
95 Apr 21-24	44	47	9	93 Mar 29-31	52	37	11
95 Apr 17-19	46	45	9	93 Mar 12-14	53	34	13
95 Apr 5-6	47	45	8	93 Feb 26-28	59	29	12
95 Mar 27-29	44	47	9	93 Feb 12-14	51	34	15
95 Mar 17-19	46	45	9	93 Jan 29-31	54	30	16
95 Feb 24-26	42	48	10	93 Jan 24-26	58	20	22
95 Feb 3-5	49	44	7
95 Jan 16-18	47	45	8
(^) Based on one-night poll; margin of error = ± 4 pct pts, with additional possible error due to limitations of polls conducted in only one night

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?

	Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion		Approve	Dis- approve	No opinion

	%	%	%		%	%	%
2001				1995 Jul 7-9	35	55	10
2001 Jan 10-14	50	40	10	1995 May 11-14	34	57	9
				1995 Apr 17-19	37	54	9
2000				1995 Mar 27-29	31	61	8
2000 Dec 2-4	56	34	10	1995 Mar 17-19	32	59	9
2000 Oct 6-9	49	42	9	1995 Feb 24-26	35	53	12
2000 Aug 29-Sep 5	48	42	10	1995 Feb 3-5	38	53	9
2000 May 18-21	39	52	9	1995 Jan 16-18	33	52	15
2000 Jan 7-10	51	42	7	1994
1999				1994 Dec 28-30	23	66	11
1999 Sep 23-26	37	56	7	1994 Oct 22-25	23	70	7
1999 Jul 13-14	39	51	10	1994 Oct 7-9	21	73	6
1999 Jun 11-13	41	53	6	1994 Jul 15-17	27	65	8
1999 Apr 13-14	45	47	8	1994 Mar 25-27	29	63	8
1999 Feb 12-13	41	54	5	1994 Feb 26-28	28	66	6
1999 Jan 15-17	50	46	4	1993
1998				1993 Nov	24	69	8
1998 Dec 15-16	42	52	6	1993 Aug	23	69	8
1998 Nov 13-15	41	54	5	1993 Jul	24	65	11
1998 Oct 29-Nov 1	44	47	9	1993 Feb	27	54	19
1998 Oct 9-12	47	46	7	1992
1998 Oct 6-7	44	48	8	1992 Mar ^	18	78	3
1998 Sep 11-12	55	36	9	1991
1998 May 8-10	44	48	8	1991 Jul	32	53	15
1998 Apr 17-19	49	40	11	1990
1998 Feb 13-15	57	33	10	1990 Nov	26	63	11
1998 Jan 30-Feb 1	56	35	9	1990 Oct 25-28	24	68	8
1998 Jan 16-18	42	47	11	1990 Oct 18-21	23	64	13
1997				1990 Oct 11-14	28	65	7
1997 Dec 18-21	39	52	9
1997 Oct 27-29	36	53	11	PRE-1990
1997 Aug 22-25	41	48	11	1987 Sep	42	49	9
1997 Jul 25-27	34	57	9	1983 Apr	33	43	24
1997 May 6-7	32	58	10	1982 Jun	29	54	17
1997 Apr 18-20	30	59	11	1981 Jun	38	40	22
1997 Feb 24-26	37	48	15	1979 Jun	19	61	20
1997 Jan 31-Feb 2	36	51	13	1978 Sep	29	49	22
1997 Jan 10-13	41	49	10	1977 Jun	34	42	24
1996				1977 May	40	40	20
1996 Oct 26-29	34	51	15	1977 Mar	36	42	22
1996 Aug 5-7	39	49	12	1975 Nov	28	54	18
1996 May 9-12	30	65	5	1975 Jun	29	54	17
1996 Apr 9-10	35	57	8	1975 Apr	38	48	14
1995				1975 Feb-Mar	32	50	18
1995 Sep 22-24	30	61	9	1974 Aug	30	47	23
1995 Aug 28-30	30	60	10

(^) Gallup/Newsweek

Election Controversy Apparently Drove Partisan Wedge Into Attitudes Towards Supreme Court

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