Just 28 percent of Americans now say Clinton will be viewed by history as an “above average” president, vs. 37 percent one week ago. And 53 percent of Americans now see him as a poor role model.
Meanwhile, George W. Bush’s approval rating has increased from 52 percent one week ago to 56 percent.
Clinton’s reputation appears to have been damaged most significantly by his pardon of Marc Rich, the fugitive financier.
Sixty-five percent of Americans say they disapprove of the Rich pardon and 55 percent say Clinton should be called to testify at Congressional hearings on the subject. But Americans are narrowly divided over whether Clinton himself should be a target of a newly launched criminal investigation into the Rich pardon (42 percent say yes, vs. 43 percent no.)
Majorities of those polled say they expect Clinton to succeed financially in the private sector (84 percent) and that he will be able to do a lot for the causes he believes in (58 percent), despite the controversies. Fifty-seven percent say they would try to hear Clinton speak if he were invited by an organization with which they were affiliated.
Meanwhile, 77 percent of those surveyed say they believe Hillary Clinton’s ability to be a successful senator has not been hurt by the controversies surrounding Clinton’s departure from the White House.
The NEWSWEEK poll was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, which interviewed 1,004 adults by telephone on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
