BY WILL LESTER
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Most Americans want Congress to punish President Clinton in some way, even though they say the president should remain in office, according to weekend polls taken after the release of Kenneth Starr's report.
The president's job approval ratings remain strong, from 59 percent to 67 percent, depending on the poll. And a majority in three polls taken over the weekend and released Sunday -- for ABC News, CBS News and CNN - USA Today - Gallup -- said they thought the president should remain in office.
But more people had an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Clinton personally than had a favorable opinion, a measure of his personal appeal that has dipped in recent weeks even as his job approval has held steady. The president's sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky was outlined in detail in Mr. Starr's report released Friday and made public in newspapers, over the Internet and on news broadcasts.
A majority of people said they don't think Republicans and Democrats in Congress will be able to work together in a fair and bipartisan manner.
"This entire process is overwhelmingly political in nature and the consensus of the citizens of this country will be the determining factor in the way Congress responds," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Steve Grossman.
The spokesman for the Republican National Committee, Mike Collins, said Americans are just beginning to absorb the detailed report.
"But this is not about polls, as both Democrats and Republicans have said. This is about getting to the truth," Mr. Collins said.
Almost two-thirds of Americans in the CBS poll said they think the Starr report has too many graphic sexual details. And six of 10 said the report was intended mostly to embarrass the president and should not have been released to the public.
