The Michigan Review

Students Respond to Clinton Scandal

by John E. Jernstad

Almost daily, opinion polls conducted by the print and broadcast media describe how the American people are reacting to what has become the political spectacle of the decade. Each national poll has differed slightly in their numbers, but they have indicated that although the American people do not think Mr. Clinton to be much of a family man, he is still doing an acceptable job as the president of the United States. An opinion poll conducted by CNN in mid-September has reported that President Clinton’s support has remained virtually unchanged before and after the release of Independent Prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s report to Congress, with his approval rating holding steady in the mid-60% range. It also stated that more Americans have lost respect for the president as embarrassing details of the investigation has become public, from 59% of respondents saying they respected the President in January to just 43% in mid-September (CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll).

Such is the frenzy whipped up by politicians and the media that even normally apathetic university students have begun to take notice. How do members of the University of Michigan community feel about the current scandal surrounding the president? In an informal opinion poll conducted by the Michigan Review among students and staff of the University, almost all of the polled said they believe Mr. Clinton is doing an acceptable job as the president. Regarding his moral character, however, respondents were less generous, many giving him less than 4 on a scale of 1(creep) to 10(exemplary). Most (over 90%) stated that the scandal and investigation are interfering with the president’s ability to do his job, either by taking up his time and resources that could be better used, or by crippling his credibility. One respondent said that “the scandals have compromised [Mr. Clinton’s] moral authority.”

Regarding his status as the most visible American, many respondents said that they do not believe Mr. Clinton has been rendered ineffective in the eyes of other world leaders, offering the rather optimistic opinion that other leaders would empathize with what Mr. Clinton is going through and understand it to be mere politics.

The general consensus among those interviewed was that the current scandal in Washington is merely politics as usual. Even though many Democratic candidates for the upcoming November elections appear to be distancing themselves from the president, fearing he would be a liability in their campaign efforts, most respondents said that what is going on now will not affect them in how they vote in future local or national elections.

Although most respondents said they have read little if any of the Starr report, or seen or read much more than parts of Mr. Clinton’s grand jury testimony, all expressed strong opinions on how the scandal is affecting the nation. Many expressed negative views at the president, his enemies and the media. Although college students are not normally noted for sexual restraint, and despite the fact the University of Michigan is widely known as one of the more liberal universities, most people expressed their disapproval of the president and his lack of self control.

Many students, however, said that what Mr. Clinton is going through is his own business, and should be not be a national matter. Some respondents mirrored the opinion of the majority of the American people, saying that Mr. Clinton’s problems are between him and his family — an opinion apparently shared by the president and repeatedly expressed though his many televised statements. A student even absolved the president’s sins, saying that his values, or lack thereof, are only a reflection of the morals of today’s American society, and he should not be faulted.

Few said their opinion of the office of the presidency has been altered by the scandals, considering the scandal less related to Mr. Clinton’s position as the president of the United States than to his own character. Several respondents also expressed their disapproval of the way the media has been handling the affair, one student calling it “a media circus.” MR

This article was published in the 7 October 1998 edition of The Michigan Review (Volume 17, Number 2).
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