WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 -- A newly released CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds (Monday) President Clinton's approval rating falling compared with the year-ago period. The poll of 1,013 U.S. adults, conducted Oct. 7 through Oct. 9, found that 42 percent of the respondents approved of Clinton's job performance, compared with 52 percent who disapproved; 6 percent had no opinion.
A similar poll conducted a year ago found 50 percent of respondents approved of the president's performance, while 42 percent disapproved and 8 percent had no opinion. The survey also found a strong dissatisfaction with U.S. legislators. A whopping 73 percent of respondents said they disapproved of the way Congress is handling its job, with 21 percent approving and 6 percent having no opinion. Among the poll's other findings: --41 percent of respondents said the Republicans would do a better job of dealing with health care policy, with 43 percent favoring Democrats; 16 percent offering no opinion. --58 percent said Republicans would do a better with foreign policy, while 28 percent preferred the Democrats; 14 percent had no opinion. --48 percent said Republicans would do a better job with taxes, while 38 percent gave the nod to the Democrats; 14 percent had no opinion. --48 percent favored the Republicans in handling the economy, while 40 percent favored the Democrats; 12 percent had no opinion. --Respondents were fairly evenly split on crime, with 42 percent saying the Republicans would do a better job on the issue and 40 percent favoring the Democrats; 18 percent had no opinion. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
