Editing Bill Clinton (section)

==Public opinion==

[[File:Clinton approval rating.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Clinton's [[United States presidential approval rating|approval ratings]] throughout his presidential career (Roper Center)]]
Throughout Clinton's first term, his job approval rating fluctuated in the 40s and 50s. In his second term, his rating consistently ranged from the high-50s to the high-60s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pollingreport.com/clinton-.htm | title=Bill Clinton: Job Ratings | publisher=Pollingreport.com | access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> After his impeachment proceedings in 1998 and 1999, Clinton's rating reached its highest point.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/20/impeachment.poll/ | title=Clinton's approval rating up in wake of impeachment | work=CNN | date=December 20, 1998 | access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> According to a [[CBS News]]/''New York Times'' poll, Clinton left office with an approval rating of 68&nbsp;percent, which matched those of Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt as the highest ratings for departing presidents in the modern era.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-look-back-at-the-polls/ | title=A Look Back at the Polls | work=[[CBS News]] | first=Bootie | last=Cosgrove-Mather | date=June 7, 2004 | access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> Clinton's average [[Gallup Organization|Gallup poll]] approval rating for his last quarter in office was 61 percent, the highest final quarter rating any president has received for fifty years.<ref name="Jan2001Gallup">{{cite web|first=David W.|last=Moore|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/2125/clinton-leaves-office-mixed-public-reaction.aspx|title=Clinton Leaves Office With Mixed Public Reaction, Gallup Organization|website=[[Gallup.com]]|date=January 12, 2001}}</ref> Forty-seven percent of the respondents identified themselves as being Clinton supporters.<ref name="Jan2001Gallup" />

As he was leaving office, a CNN/''[[USA Today]]''/Gallup poll revealed that 45&nbsp;percent of Americans said they would miss him; 55&nbsp;percent thought he "would have something worthwhile to contribute and should remain active in public life"; 68&nbsp;percent thought he would be remembered more for his "involvement in personal scandal" than for "his accomplishments"; and 58&nbsp;percent answered "No" to the question "Do you generally think Bill Clinton is honest and trustworthy?"<ref name="Jan2001Gallup" /> The same percentage said he would be remembered as either "outstanding" or "above average" as a president, while 22&nbsp;percent said he would be remembered as "below average" or "poor".<ref name="Jan2001Gallup" /> [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] characterized public consensus on Clinton as, "You can't trust him, he's got weak morals and ethics—and he's done a heck of a good job."<ref name=langer>{{cite web| url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=120952| title=Poll: Clinton Legacy Mixed| agency=ABC News| date=January 17, 2001| first=Gary | last=Langer | website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]| access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref> During his first term, roughly 7 in 10 Americans believed that the media unfairly covered Clinton's character flaws, according to polling.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-public-press/161109319/ Public, Press Butt Heads on Clinton]. ''[[Newsday]]''. May 22, 1995. Retrieved December 18, 2024.</ref>

A year after he left office, a Gallup poll found that 51 percent of respondents said they approved of the overall job Clinton did as president.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-and-messenger-bill-clinton-mounts-c/160358089/ Bill Clinton mounts comeback on the campaign trail]. ''[[News and Messenger]]''. April 15, 2002. Retrieved December 5, 2024.</ref> In May 2006, a CNN poll comparing Clinton's job performance with that of his successor, George W. Bush, found that a strong majority of respondents said Clinton outperformed Bush in six different areas questioned.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/12/bush.clinton.poll/index.html | title=Poll: Clinton outperformed Bush | work=CNN | date=May 15, 2006 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> A June 2006 poll by Gallup found that 61 percent of Americans said they approved of the job Clinton did as president, a 10-point increase from the 2002 poll.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-retrospective-approval/160183598/ Retrospective approval ratings of past presidents, June 2006 poll]. [[Gallup Organization]]. ''[[The Plain Dealer]]''. December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2024.</ref> Gallup polls in 2007 and 2011 showed that Clinton was regarded by 13 percent of Americans as the greatest president in U.S. history.<ref>Lydia Saad, [http://www.gallup.com/poll/26608/lincoln-resumes-position-americans-toprated-president.aspx Lincoln Resumes Position as Americans' Top-Rated President: Reagan and Clinton lead among members of their respective parties], Gallup (February 19, 2007).</ref><ref>Frank Newport, [Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President: Lincoln and Clinton next on the list; Washington fifth], Gallup (February 18, 2011).</ref>

In 2010, 69 percent of respondents in a Gallup survey said they approved of the job Clinton did as president, including 47 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of independents. His sudden spike in popularity during this time was attributed to Americans comparing him to then-incumbent Democratic president [[Barack Obama]], who had low approval ratings.<ref>Jones, Jeffrey M. (February 15, 2018). [https://news.gallup.com/poll/226994/obama-first-retrospective-job-approval-rating.aspx Obama's First Retrospective Job Approval Rating Is 63%]. ''[[Gallup Organization]]''. Retrieved December 6, 2024.</ref> In 2014, 18 percent of respondents in a [[Quinnipiac University Polling Institute]] poll of American voters regarded Clinton as the best president since World War II, making him the third most popular among postwar presidents, behind John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.<ref name="Q Poll">[http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2056 Obama Is First As Worst President Since WWII, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Voters Say Romney Would Have Been Better] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703073437/http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2056 |date=July 3, 2014 }}, Quinnipiac University (July 2, 2014).</ref> The same poll showed that just 3 percent of American voters regarded Clinton as the worst president since World War II.<ref name="Q Poll" />

A 2015 poll by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' asked 162 scholars of the [[American Political Science Association]] to rank all the U.S. presidents in order of greatness. According to their findings, Clinton ranked eighth overall, with a rating of 70 percent.<ref>{{cite news | first1=Brandon | last1=Rottinghaus | first2=Justin | last2=Vaughn | title=New ranking of U.S. presidents puts Lincoln at No. 1, Obama at 18; Kennedy judged most overrated | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 16, 2015 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/16/new-ranking-of-u-s-presidents-puts-lincoln-1-obama-18-kennedy-judged-most-over-rated/ | access-date=March 24, 2015}}</ref>