-Caveat Lector- Poll: Clinton Scandals Hurt Gore By WILL LESTER .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Public weariness with the Clinton administration's ethical problems may be hampering Vice President Al Gore's efforts to build support for his presidential campaign, a poll released Saturday suggested. A Gore campaign adviser said it was too early to gauge the impact of the vice president's close ties to Clinton. For the first time since September 1997, when Gore was at the center of a controversy about campaign fund raising, his favorable ratings slipped below 50 percent in the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The new poll indicated 47 percent of the public has a favorable view of Gore, while 43 percent say their view of the Democratic front-runner for 2000 is unfavorable. The poll also indicated Gore needs to gain strength among women and independents, two important groups in his bid for the presidency. Three-fourths of all respondents questioned said they were tired of problems associated with the Clinton administration. Of the independents who said they were tired of the administration's problems, almost two-thirds, 63 percent, favored Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican front-runner, over Gore. Campaigning in New Hampshire, Gore told reporters: ``The country wants to move on to a discussion of the future and not dwell on the past. I have condemned the president's personal mistakes. He is my friend, but what he did was wrong. I think they understand that I am a different person who has been part of a team that produced an economic recovery and the economic progress that we have had in America.'' ``Of course people are tired of scandals,'' said Mark Penn, a pollster who advises Gore. ``They didn't ask, 'Are you tired of the Republican right wing?''' he said. ``Our analysis is that the vice president is starting out where all vice presidents start out, where (Richard) Nixon started out, where (George) Bush started out.'' Penn said it is too early to analyze the effects of the Clinton presidency on Gore's candidacy. ``At the end of the day, the Clinton factor will be positive,'' said Penn, who also conducts polls for the president. He said the Clinton-Gore administration will get credit for producing a prosperous economy and making many other changes beneficial to the nation. In the Pew poll, women preferred Bush over Gore by a margin of 52 percent to 42 percent. In January of 1996, Clinton led Republican nominee Bob Dole by almost 20 percentage points among women. Independents, a key swing group in the 2000 election, favored Bush over Gore by almost a 2-1 margin, according to the poll. When people were asked to give a one-word description of the vice president, the top response was ``boring.'' In a Pew poll in September 1996, the word mentioned most often was ``intelligent.'' ``At this point, it's very, very early,'' said Pew survey director Greg Flemming. ``But Gore's got a lot of work to do.'' Bush was supported by 54 percent, and Gore had 41 percent. Former Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole, another Republican in the race, led Gore 52 percent to 42 percent. But polls taken this early before an election often don't forecast the eventual winner. The poll of 1,786 adults was taken March 24-30 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
