The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A growing number of Americans think President Clinton should consider resigning, according to a Newsweek poll that also found 41 percent now believe Congress should begin impeachment hearings in the aftermath of his White House affair with Monica Lewinsky.
The survey released Saturday found that 46 percent now believe Clinton should consider resigning, compared with 39 percent who felt that way a week earlier in another Newsweek poll. There also was a substantial one-week increase in the number believing impeachment hearings are warranted -- from 35 percent a week ago to 41 percent in the new poll.
Sixty-four percent questioned in the new poll said Congress should formally reprimand or censure Clinton, up from 54 percent a week earlier, while 32 percent said it should not. The censure question was not linked to the other two, meaning those who favored censure -- as well as those who did not -- might also favor resignation or impeachment hearings.
The Newsweek poll found Clinton's overall job approval rating down slightly over the past week, from 61 percent to 58 percent, and that 66 percent believe he "lied under oath," compared with 18 percent who believe he was "legally accurate" in sworn testimony.
Asked about the release by Congress of a videotape of Clinton's grand jury testimony and other evidence, 44 percent approved of the tape's release while 52 percent disapproved; 48 percent approved of releasing the other evidence, while 47 percent disapproved. The Newsweek survey was conducted Thursday and Friday, partially before and partially after the House Judiciary Committee voted Friday to make the materials available.
Another poll, for Fox News, found that just 38 percent of those surveyed approved of the way Democrats and Republicans in Congress are handling the matter overall. Fifty percent of Americans disapproved of congressional Republicans' role in the investigation and 45 percent disapproved of how Democrats are treating it.
The Fox poll was taken Wednesday and Thursday, before the Judiciary Committee voted to release Clinton's grand jury testimony and 2,800 pages of material supporting the report of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
Both the Fox poll and a Time Magazine-CNN survey offered more indications that Americans are against the public release of the video by a 2-1 margin.
The Time-CNN poll found nonetheless that 48 percent were likely to watch the video, while 50 percent said they were not.
The Time-CNN poll, of 1,020 Americans aged 18 or older, was conducted Wednesday and Thursday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The Fox poll of 901 registered voters had a margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The Newsweek poll of 750 adults had a margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
