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The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993‐99
Author(s) -
COHEN JEFFREY E.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/j.0000-0000.2001.00197.x
Subject(s) - political science , competence (human resources) , public opinion , perception , context (archaeology) , public relations , public administration , law , politics , psychology , social psychology , history , archaeology , neuroscience
This article looks at changes in public perceptions of President Clinton's personal characteristics across his eight years in office. Utilizing a battery of questions that the Gallup Poll repeatedly asked of the public, we find that on issues of character, the public's views of Clinton became increasingly negative. In contrast, on issues of competence, public regard for Clinton rose. These findings are put into a theoretical context of the relationship between the president and the mass public rather than a narrow focus on Clinton's term in office.