Monday, February 2, 1998
As allegations swirl, Clinton’s approval rating soars
By Marie Blanchard
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Amidst a weeklong flurry of allegations, rumors and reports on
the president’s relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, Clinton’s
popularity ratings have steadily increased, much to the amazement
of political analysts.
Many are left wondering if perhaps the media is out of touch
with the public.
"The newspapers and television (shows) are beginning to look
more and more like supermarket tabloids," commented Joel Aberbach,
director of American politics in the School of Public Policy.
"Even headlines of papers like the New York Times, which has
been held as the standard, a moral, respectable paper that usually
doesn’t print this type of article."
With a current approval rating of 68 percent, Clinton is
crushing the traditional opinion that this type of scandal could
virtually annihilate the career of any politician in the United
States.
"The old notion that character is key needs to be reconsidered.
In the past this might have proved paralyzing, but instead he now
has (a very high) approval rating," political science Professor
Shanto Iyengar said.
While recent polls show that many people do believe that Clinton
did have an affair with Lewinsky, the public seems to be separating
Clinton’s private life and his public performance, with the latter
taking precedence.
"There’s a lot of maturity on the part of the citizens,"
Aberbach explained.
Is Clinton the exception to a rule that proved so fatal for Gary
Hart, Ted Kennedy and, recently, Sen. Bob Packwood?
According to Aberbach, "There are three points here. The first
is whether or not the public believes the story, then their
impressions of Lewinsky’s personality and finally their assessment
of Clinton’s leadership skills."
"One of Clinton’s great strengths is that he’s quite capable of
giving a great performance under great pressure and people are very
impressed with this. So far he holding up extraordinarily
well."
In Iyengar’s opinion, Clinton can thank a good economy and a low
unemployment rate for the recent surge in his popularity.
"But right now he’s not being held accountable for his private
problems."
However, even if these allegations fail to hurt Clinton’s
approval ratings in the long run, they certainly will not have a
positive effect on the American political system as a whole.
"It’s not good for American politics," Aberbach said. "It’s a
diversion from discussing real issues and it’s going to have an
impact on the public’s view of politicians.
"Political trust is not high and this is just going to drive it
down further."