CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, September 1998

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his leadership, the United States Congress, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. A series of questions was asked about the relationship between Clinton and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, including the importance of the matter to the nation, whether Clinton had said enough on the topic, whether it was a public or a private matter, who was to blame for the situation, whether the respondent thought that Clinton encouraged Lewinsky to lie about their relationship, and what should happen to him if he did obstruct justice. Regarding the Independent Counsel's report on the Clinton investigation, released on September 11, 1998, respondents were asked about the extent to which they had read or heard about the report, the fairness of the report, whether it was appropriate to include graphic sexual details about Clinton and Lewinsky's relationship, the Independent Counsel's motivation for doing so, whether releasing the report was the "right" thing to do, the report's lack of mention of the Whitewater investigation, and the influence of the report. Respondents were asked whether they believed that the United States House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee should hold hearings to determine whether to impeach Clinton, whether that committee should release the videotape of Clinton's testimony, and whether the nation had faith in Congress to do the right thing. Additional topics covered the effect of the scandal on Congress, on the Clinton administration, on Clinton's ability to represent the United States abroad, and on the November 1998 election, as well as whether school teachers should discuss the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal with their students. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, ethnicity, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, marital status, employment status, family income, age of children in the household, personal use of a computer, and access to the Starr report on the Internet.