BY WILL LESTER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton's job approval ratings remained strong in polls taken hours after the House released a report on his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. But a growing number of people thinks impeachment could be warranted if he asked her to lie.
The report by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr detailed Clinton's sexual relationship with the former White House intern and claimed substantial evidence of impeachable offenses.
Polls by CNN/Gallup and ABC News indicated the president's job approval rating is still strong -- 62 percent in the Gallup poll and 56 percent in the ABC poll.
But when people were asked in the ABC poll if the president should be impeached for encouraging Ms. Lewinsky to lie about their relationship, 57 percent said yes. That was an increase of 14 points on that question since Aug. 21 and 6 percentage points since Wednesday.
Starr's report says the president tried to sway Ms. Lewinsky's testimony about their relationship, while the president has said he did not. The ABC poll said 56 percent believe Starr's version of events, while 30 percent believe the president.
Slightly more than six of 10 in the Gallup poll said they believe he should not be impeached or removed from office. The Gallup poll question, however, did not include the phrasing "if he encouraged Ms. Lewinsky to lie."
More than half in the Gallup poll, 58 percent, said Congress should vote to censure the president for behavior that has eroded the public's respect for his ethics and truthfulness.
That total had not shifted since Thursday night, either. Almost 60 percent said they thought Clinton was fit to be president.
Analysts caution that such polls taken immediately after an event may not pick up shifts in public opinion, which can take longer to register. For example, six out of 10 in the Gallup poll taken Friday night had not read or heard details of the report.
The Gallup phone survey of 631 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The ABC poll of 510 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
