GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
Bill Clinton can expect Americans to be a receptive audience for this Monday's inaugural address. Having just won a decisive victory in the November election, Clinton finds public approval of his job performance at an all-time high. Concern about many of the nation's problems is down from levels evident when he first took office, and confidence in his ability to provide leadership is solid. In addition, there has been a striking improvement in public satisfaction with the general direction of the country.
A record number of Americans now approve of the way Bill Clinton is handling his job and have a favorable impression of him as a person. Despite recent publicity surrounding the sexual harassment charges brought against Clinton by Paula Jones, a Gallup poll taken last weekend found 65% holding a favorable view of the President and only 31% an unfavorable view. Similarly, his job approval rating is now 62%, with only 31% disapproving.
Clinton's approval rating entering his second term is somewhat lower than Presidents Johnson, Eisenhower, Truman and Roosevelt on the eve of their second term inaugurations, but compares favorably with the most recent two-term presidents: Clinton's ratings are nearly identical to Ronald Reagan's in January of 1985 and substantially higher than Richard Nixon's in 1973.
Clinton's Specific Accomplishments Not Obvious
In spite of his high ratings, there is apparently no single major
policy or political achievement which Americans identify with Bill
Clinton at this point in his presidency. When asked what they
believe is the most important accomplishment of Clinton's first
term, about half of respondents are unwilling or unable to name
even one.
Success in various economic matters is mentioned by 15% of respondents and tops the list of responses given as Clinton's greatest achievement to date, followed by various international matters (with 6% of all mentions) and welfare reform, with 4%. Health care, anti-crime legislation, education, the minimum wage bill, Nafta and the "family leave" act were each cited by between 1-3% of adults in the recent poll.
No Hint of "Malaise"
Not only do Americans seem content with their president, but they
are feeling much better about the country as a whole. Exactly half
of Americans now say they are satisfied with the way things are
going in the U.S. Just prior to Clinton's inauguration four years
ago only 29% felt satisfied.
Gallup data suggest this improvement in the overall mood of the country is largely related to an increase in public confidence in the economy. The percent saying they are satisfied with "the state of the nation's economy" more than doubled -- from 25% to 58% -- between January of 1993 and today. Americans are also much more content with the availability and affordability of health care; 41% now say they are satisfied, up from 23% in 1993.
Satisfaction with conditions in other areas -- including military defense, race relations, education, the environment, poverty and economic opportunity -- has remained stable or risen only moderately. Today about three quarters are satisfied with the nation's military security and close to two-thirds are satisfied with the level of environmental protection. About half are satisfied with the quality of education, race relations, economic opportunities for the poor, and economic opportunities for the next generation. Only one-third are satisfied with the progress made in reducing poverty and homelessness.
When focusing on Clinton's abilities, the poll shows that since 1993 Americans have maintained or increased their confidence in Clinton on several important fronts, including foreign affairs, the deficit, the economy and taxes.
On the issues tested in the Gallup poll, confidence in Clinton dropped substantially in two areas over the last four years: reforming the political system and expanding access to health care. In 1993 about half of Americans felt at least somewhat sure that Clinton could reform the political system, while just over one-third think so today. Over the same time period, confidence in Clinton's ability to make health care more available and affordable fell from 68% to 52%.
Character Issue Still Dogs Clinton
While the new Gallup poll provides mostly good news for Clinton, it
reaffirms the view that his personal image suffered some damage
during his first term. In January of 1993, half of Americans felt
that "inspires confidence" and "cares about the needs of people
like you" were phrases that strongly applied to Bill Clinton. Those
figures have fallen to one-third today. The percent strongly
believing he shares their values or is honest and trustworthy also
fell from about one-third in 1993 to under one-quarter today. Today
Americans are more likely to say these characteristics apply "only
somewhat" or don't apply "at all" to Clinton.
Survey Methods
The results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,005 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted January 10-13, 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 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?
| Clinton Job Approval - Recent Trend | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | No opinion | |
| 1997 Jan 10-13 |
62% | 31 | 7 |
| 1997 Jan 3-5 |
58% | 35 | 7 |
| 1996 Dec 9-11 |
58% | 34 | 8 |
| 1996 Nov 21-24 |
58% | 35 | 7 |
| 1996 Oct 26-29 |
54% | 36 | 10 |
| 1996 Oct 1-2 |
58% | 34 | 8 |
| 2nd Term Pre-inaugural Job Approval Ratings | |||
| Approve | Disapprove | No opinion | |
| 1997 Jan 10-13 (Clinton) |
62% | 31 | 7 |
| 1985 Jan 11-14 (Reagan) |
62% | 29 | 9 |
| 1973 Jan 12-15 (Nixon) |
51% | 37 | 12 |
| 1965 Jan 7-12 (Johnson)* |
71% | 15 | 14 |
| 1957 Jan 17-22 (Eisenhower) |
73% | 14 | 13 |
| 1949 Jan 7-12 (Truman)* |
69% | 17 | 14 |
| 1941 Jan 11-16 (Roosevelt)** |
64% | 26 | 9 |
| * only elected term ** third term; no polls available from 1937 |
|||
In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?
| Satisfaction with U .S. - Selected Trend | ||||||
| Satisfied | Dissatisfied | No opinion | ||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 50% | 47 | 3 | |||
| 1996 Jan 5-7 | 24% | 72 | 4 | |||
| 1994 Jan 15-17 | 35% | 62 | 3 | |||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 29% | 68 | 3 | |||
| 1992 Jan 3-6* | 24% | 74 | 2 | |||
| 1991 Jan 17-20 | 62% | 33 | 5 | |||
| 1991 Jan 3-6 | 32% | 61 | 7 | |||
| 1990 Feb | 55% | 39 | 6 | |||
| 1989 Feb | 45% | 50 | 5 | |||
| 1988 May | 41% | 64 | 5 | |||
| 1986 Mar | 66% | 30 | 4 | |||
| 1984 Feb | 50% | 46 | 4 | |||
| 1982 Apr | 25% | 71 | 4 | |||
| 1981 Jan | 17% | 78 | 5 | |||
| 1979 Feb | 26% | 69 | 5 | |||
Next, I'd like you to rate your satisfaction with the state of the nation in some different areas. First , how satisfied are you with [ RANDOM ORDER] -- would you say very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not too satisfied, or not at all satisfied? Next, how satisfied are you with ... (RANDOM ORDER)
| Satisfied With Certain Aspects of U.S.? - Trend | |||||
| Very | Somewhat | Not too | Not at all | No opinion | |
| The nation's military security | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 32% | 40 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 47% | 40 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| The opportunity for a poor person in this country to get ahead by working hard | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 16% | 34 | 28 | 21 | 1 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 13% | 29 | 27 | 30 | 1 |
| Protection of the environment | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 13% | 50 | 24 | 11 | 2 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 8% | 44 | 28 | 18 | 2 |
| The state of the nation's economy | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 12% | 46 | 27 | 14 | 1 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 3% | 22 | 39 | 34 | 1 |
| The quality of education | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 10% | 36 | 30 | 23 | 1 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 7% | 36 | 32 | 23 | 2 |
| The opportunity for the next generation of Americans to live better than their parents | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 10% | 35 | 32 | 21 | 2 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 6% | 32 | 33 | 27 | 2 |
| The availability and affordability of healthcare | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 9% | 32 | 32 | 26 | 1 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 3% | 20 | 31 | 45 | 1 |
| The state of race relations | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 7% | 42 | 30 | 19 | 2 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 7% | 42 | 29 | 18 | 4 |
| Progress in reducing poverty and homelessness | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 4% | 32 | 38 | 24 | 2 |
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 2% | 20 | 37 | 29 | 2 |
Now I'd like you to think about Bill Clinton's ability to handle a number of things over the next four years. Please tell me whether you are very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not at all confident that Clinton can. [item]..next... (RANDOM ORDER)
| Accomplish in 4 Years? - Trend | |||||
| Total confident | Total not confident | No opinion | |||
| Handle an international crisis | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 72% | 27 | 1 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 70% | 28 | 2 | ||
| Keep the U.S. out of war | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 68% | 30 | 2 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 61% | 35 | 4 | ||
| Secure the nation's long-term economic future | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 57% | 41 | 2 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 61% | 37 | 2 | ||
| Make health care available and affordable for all Americans | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 52% | 47 | 1 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 68% | 31 | 1 | ||
| Significantly reduce the budget deficit | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 47% | 51 | 2 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 43% | 56 | 1 | ||
| Avoid raising taxes for middle income people | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 43% | 55 | 2 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 33% | 65 | 2 | ||
| Reform the political system | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 37% | 59 | 4 | ||
| 1993 Jan 8-11 | 51% | 47 | 2 | ||
I'm going to read off some personal characteristics and qualities. As I read each one, tell me if you think it strongly applies to Bill Clinton, somewhat applies, or doesn't apply. First... next... (RANDOM ORDER)
| Applies to Clinton? (at start of each term) |
|||||
| Strongly Applies | Somewhat applies | Does not apply | |||
| Cares about the needs of people like you | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 34% | 36 | 28 | ||
| 1993 Jan 24-26 | 50% | 31 | 15 | ||
| Inspires confidence | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 33% | 38 | 27 | ||
| 1993 Jan 24-26 | 51% | 33 | 13 | ||
| Shares your values | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 25% | 39 | 33 | ||
| 1993 Jan 24-26 | 36% | 42 | 19 | ||
| Honest and trustworthy | |||||
| 1997 Jan 10-13 | 21% | 39 | 38 | ||
| 1993 Jan 24-26 | 34% | 42 | 18 | ||
| Note: "No opinion" omitted. | |||||
