A Gallup Poll Review of the Clinton Presidency (gag)

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE ^ | June 21, 2004 | Joseph Carroll and Frank Newport

[Liz]

Bill Clinton’s job approval rating went up, not down, during the impeachment years

PRINCETON, NJ -- The massive publicity campaign associated with Bill Clinton's soon-to-be released memoir, My Life, has thrust the former president back into the news. Additionally, Clinton recently surfaced at what turned out to be a highly cordial White House ceremony as his official portrait was unveiled, and was clearly visible as ex-presidents attended the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C.

Clinton's presidency, which stretched from 1993 to 2001, was one of the more complex and tumultuous ones in recent times. Clinton began with significant problems, gained public trust as he sought re-election in 1996, and then entered the fascinating period during which he became only the second president in U.S. history to be impeached. Ironically, Clinton's job approval ratings rose, rather than fell, during the Monica Lewinsky scandal-impeachment period, and his second-term ratings were higher than those from his first term.

It's been only a little over three years since Clinton left office, so it's too early to get a firm grasp on what his lasting legacy will be from the perspective of the American people. What we do know is that he left office with a relatively high average job approval rating, and that his image, to this day remains polarized. Enough Americans still like Clinton, however, to ensure that he retains a place on Gallup Poll's annual list of most admired men, and that he is fourth on the list when Americans are asked to name the greatest president of all time.

Clinton's Ratings While He Was in Office

Clinton's average approval rating over the course of his administration, 55%, is just about average for presidents measured by Gallup since World War II. On the one hand, Clinton's ratings were higher than five former presidents -- Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Reagan. On the other, Clinton's approval rating was lower than the average for Eisenhower, Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. The average job approval ratings for Clinton and Lyndon B. Johnson were just about the same.

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[Liz]

Bill Clinton’s job approval rating went up, not down, during the impeachment years

His "badge of honor" (gag).

[Pikachu_Dad]

Sure, he won the merit badge for "most disgusting President".

[Liz]

Pumping his (gag) book on the "Clinton Perpetual Exoneration Tour" is his latest gambit.

[Keyes2000mt]

More interesting than this is the Retrospective approvial rating where they asked people what they thought of the Presidency in retrospect and here people really turned on Clinton:

Clinton's retrospective job approval ratings in 2002 actually ranked toward the bottom of the list of the most recent presidents. Kennedy ranked the highest, with an 83% approval rating, followed by Reagan (73%), and George H.W. Bush (69%). Further behind were Ford and Carter, each with a 60% retrospective approval rating. Clinton only scored higher (51%) than Johnson (39%) and Nixon (34%).

[techcor]

His Retrospective approval rating will absolutely plummet if anyone shows the video clip Rush Limbaugh showed on his TV program. Rush showed Clinton screaming obscenities at a minor aide at his first Easter Party at the White House. It was a "Clymer" moment times a thousand except, of course, the networks decided not to show it.

[Liz]

Nice take.

[RWR8189]

Day Late Gallup Ping

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