Clinton Still Rates High After Verdicts

A national poll taken since the Whitewater verdicts finds no significant change in President Clinton’s approval rating or in how he would fare against Bob Dole in a general-election matchup.

However, the CNN-USA Today-Gallup Poll released Thursday found that, compared with last summer, more people now believe Clinton is hiding something about his role in the Whitewater real estate deal.

An Arkansas jury returned guilty verdicts Tuesday on 24 charges against three of Clinton’s former Whitewater business partners.

Among 838 registered voters surveyed Tuesday and Wednesday, 53 percent said they approve of how Clinton is handling his job. Clinton’s ratings have been statistically unchanged since late January in CNN surveys, and other recent polls also have put his approval at higher than 50 percent.

Asked how they would vote if the presidential election were being held today, 56 percent said they would support Clinton while 40 percent backed Dole, the presumptive Republican nominee. Clinton led 58 percent to 38 percent in a similar poll May 9-12.

The sampling’s error margin is plus or minus 4 percentage points.