GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- When Paula Jones first filed suit against President Clinton two years ago for sexual harassment that allegedly occurred while Clinton was governor of Arkansas, most Americans thought she was lying and that in any case it was not relevant to Clinton's presidency. Today, however, the public is more divided on the issue. Most Americans still say the incident is not relevant, but they are more likely to believe Jones' side of the story. Furthermore, they support her right to sue Clinton while he is still in office, although they are divided over whether she should in fact do so.
When the charges were first made public two years ago, Clinton adamantly denied that the incident had occurred, and the public believed him. By a two-to-one margin, 57% to 27%, Americans said that Jones' story was mostly false rather than true. A bare majority of Americans thought that some incident had probably occurred, but that it was not sexual harassment, and that the whole issue was not relevant to any assessment of Cliton's presidency.
Although Clinton continues to deny the charges with the same fervor that he did two years ago, the most recent Gallup poll finds that public opinion has shifted toward Jones' side of the story. By a margin of 45% to 37%, Americans now believe that what Jones said is mostly true rather than false, and 72% believe that at least some sort of incident occurred. Furthermore, the public is now about evenly divided over whether the incident involved sexual harassment, while two years ago the public felt it did not.
A shift in opinion has also occurred about the importance of the incident, with 35% now saying that the questions raised about Clinton's character by the Jones incident are relevant to how Clinton should be judged as president, up from 27% two years ago. Still, that leaves a substantial majority of Americans who believe the incident is not relevant.
Public Supports Supreme Court Decision
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Paula Jones could now
proceed with her sexual harassment lawsuit rather than wait until
Clinton's term of office is over, as the President had wanted. By
58% to 40%, Americans agree with the Supreme Court decision that
Jones has the right to continue the lawsuit now, but they are more
divided over whether she should in fact do so. Just under half --
45% -- say she should continue, while 31% say she should postpone
it until the end of Clinton's term of office, and another 21% say
she should drop the suit altogether.
Attitudes Greatly Affected by Party
Affiliation
The poll shows that the only partisan consensus on this matter is
that some incident probably occurred. What happened and who is
telling the truth, however, remain matters of great dispute between
Democrats and Republicans. By two-to-one margins, Republicans
believe that Jones' account is mostly true and that sexual
harassment did occur. Democrats express the opposite views by
similarly large margins. Three-fourths of Republicans agree with
the Supreme Court decision allowing the suit to proceed; a clear
majority of Democrats disagree. Two-thirds of Republicans believe
Jones should continue her lawsuit while Clinton is in office, while
almost three-quarters of Democrats say she should postpone the
lawsuit or drop it altogether.
METHODOLOGY
The results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 935 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted May 30 - June 1, 1997. For results based on samples of
this size, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error
attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or
minus 4 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 think that Paula Jones' description of that incident is completely true, mostly true, mostly false, or completely false?
| May 20-22 1995 | May 30-Jun 1, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Completely true | 3% | 6% |
| Mostly true | 24 | 39 |
| Mostly false | 37 | 27 |
| Completely false | 20 | 10 |
| No opinion | 16 | 18 |
| ___ | ___ | |
| 100% | 100% |
Do you think that some incident between Bill Clinton and Paula Jones probably did occur while he was Governor of Arkansas, or probably did not occur?
| May 20-22 1995 | May 30-Jun 1, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Probably did occur | 53% | 72% |
| Probably did not occur | 38 | 19 |
| No opinion | 9 | 9 |
| ___ | ___ | |
| 100% | 100% |
(Asked of those who thought something had probably occurred, 677 respondents, ±4%) Based on what you think probably happened, do you think the incident should be considered sexual harassment or should not be considered sexual harassment?
| May 20-22 1995 | May 30-Jun 1, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sexual harassment | 39% | 46% |
| Not Sexual harassment | 50 | 43 |
| No opinion | 11 | 11 |
| ___ | ___ | |
| 100% | 100% |
In your view, are the questions being raised about Clinton's character in the Paula Jones' case relevant to how Clinton should be judged in office, or not relevant?
| May 20-22 1995 | May 30-Jun 1, 1997 | |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant | 27% | 35% |
| Not relevant | 71 | 62 |
| No opinion | 2 | 3 |
| ___ | ___ | |
| 100% | 100% |
As you may know, earlier this week the Supreme Court ruled that Paula Jones can proceed with her case against President Clinton while he is in office, rather than have to wait until he is out of office. Do you agree or disagree with this decision by the Supreme Court that her case can proceed now?
| Agree | 58% |
| Disagree | 40 |
| No opinion | 2 |
| ___ | |
| 100% |
Regardless of what her legal rights are, which of the following best describes the action you would like to see Paula Jones take at this point. Do you think she should: Drop her lawsuit against Clinton altogether; postpone her lawsuit until Clinton is out of office; continue with her lawsuit while Clinton is still in office? (Half sample A read as is; half sample B read in reverse order)
| Drop | 21% |
| Continue | 31 |
| Postpone | 45 |
| Other (vol.) | 1 |
| No opinion | 2 |
| ___ | |
| 100% |