CBS Poll: Tapes Make Little Impact

More than half of all Americans report that they watched at least some of President Clinton's videotaped testimony before independent counsel Kenneth Starr's grand jury, according to the latest CBS News poll.

Those who watched the videotape had mixed reactions to what they saw. And assessments of what should happen next changed little after the broadcast of the tape.

Among the 52 percent of call-back respondents who said they watched the testimony:

• Sixty-three percent said Mr. Clinton mostly tried to avoid answering questions he was asked. Thirty-two percent think he mostly answered the questions. In fact, the top mention of what "one thing" stood out in people's minds about the videotape was the president's "evasiveness."
• Viewers were divided on whether he cooperated enough in answering questions.
• Fifty-three percent said it was appropriate for Mr. Clinton to refuse to answer specific details about his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Less than half [44 percent] thought it was appropriate for the independent counsel's lawyers to be asking such specific sexual questions.
• Only 21 percent said they thought the tapes were more damaging to Mr. Clinton than they had expected. Thirty-four percent thought the tape was less damaging than expected.

TAPE RELEASE AND BROADCAST

What Should Congress Do Now?

CENSURE PRESIDENT 60% IMPEACH HIM 35% CLINTON RESIGN 38%

People were not as critical of the news organizations that decided to broadcast the tape in its entirety, but opinion was still split on this question. Forty-seven percent thought broadcasting the entire tape was the right thing to do, while 47 percent said it was wrong.

Those who watched the tape had a more favorable reaction to the broadcast. Thirty-seven percent of those who watched still said they didn't think the entire tape should have been broadcast.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NOW?

Clinton's Job Rating

APPROVE 68% DISAPPROVE 30%

Also, expectations about what will happen in the future remained the same. A majority said neither resignation nor impeachment will be the final outcome.

Opinion Of Clinton

FAVORABLE 44% UNFAVORABLE 43%

While perjury is a central issue in terms of the president's testimony, more than half continued to say it is understandable that the president would commit perjury himself, or encourage Monica Lewinsky to lie under oath, if the subject was their sexual behavior.

And even if perjury is proven, people still favor less serious action: 53 percent would want Mr. Clinton to apologize or the matter dropped; 43 percent would favor resignation or impeachment proceedings in that case.

CLINTON AS PRESIDENT
While there was almost no impact of the airing of the tape on the public's view of whether the president should resign or finish his term, more respondents gave the president a positive job rating when interviewed the second time. Last weekend, 59 percent said they approved of the way President Clinton was handling his job. Now, 68 percent of the same respondents said they approved. The size of the gain was similar among those who watched the tape and those who did not.

Also, about the same percentage [63 percent] continued to think Mr. Clinton can still be an effective president.

After the tape, there was an almost even division on whether the public had a favorable or unfavorable view of Mr. Clinton. Last weekend, among the same respondents, a slight majority viewed him unfavorably.

Opinions of Congress changed less. Half the re-interviewed respondents expressed their approval of the way Congress was handling its job over the weekend. Fifty-three percent did so Monday evening.

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