Carry on regardless is majority verdict - Yet most people believe Clinton told lies

After an extraordinary day in which they watched their President testify about furtive sex in the White House, most Americans…

After an extraordinary day in which they watched their President testify about furtive sex in the White House, most Americans want him to carry on regardless.

Regardless of the over 100 newspaper editorials which have been calling for his resignation and the media "elites" who throng the TV chat shows to express disbelief at how the President can still cling onto office.

But the morning-after polls send conflicting signals of how the country feels about a President who lies about sex. The findings will also confuse the politicians on Capitol Hill who must now decide Mr Clinton's fate.

Just a few weeks ago it was accepted as a dogma by most Democrats, as well as Republicans, that if the President were to lie under oath before the grand jury he would be "toast" - headed back to Little Rock in disgrace.

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That was before he testified. Now that America - and the world - has seen all four hours of this testimony, most Americans believe he lied to that jury under oath.

The CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll puts the figure as high as 81 per cent. ABC's poll has 57 per cent saying he lied and NBC's poll has only 28 per cent believing he told the truth.

So that should be the end of Mr Clinton's Presidency. If the President who swears to uphold the laws is seen to commit perjury before a grand jury, surely he is not fit to hold office, the moralists say.

But the people do not see it that way. The CNN poll shows that even if he lied, 56 per cent say he should not be impeached and 66 per cent (an increase of two points) approve of the job he is doing as President. In the CBS poll, 68 per cent are happy with his job performance. The ABC poll shows 60 per cent job approval.

This is the phenomenon which drives the pundits wild. The public is able to distinguish between its disapproval of the President's personal conduct and his ability to do the job.

The "disconnect", as it is called, is still there. But is it? The same CNN poll reveals worrying trends for the President and his supporters.

As many as 47 per cent say that Mr Clinton is not trustworthy or honest enough to be President. Among those who saw the videotape of his testimony, the figure rises to 53 per cent. For 39 per cent, resignation is now favoured.

The experts explain the disparities by linking the high job approval figures to the healthy economy and low unemployment. The Dow Jones blue chip index rose 38 points as the videotape was played to the world.

The confusing poll figures must now be interpreted by the 435 members of the House of Representatives, who may be called on in the months ahead to vote to impeach the President.

When they are asked about the high job rating of Mr Clinton, the politicians reply that they must do their duty regardless of polls. But most observers take this with a grain of salt.

The White House is floating the compromise of a motion of censure of the President rather than impeachment. Democrats would gladly go along with this, but they are in a minority.

The Republicans fear the wrath of their supporters at the polls on November 3rd if they are seen to drop the impeachment process at this stage, while there is still a lot of disgust and anger at the President's behaviour. The betting is that the House will vote for a formal start to the impeachment process before it rises on October 9th.

Two of the most influential newspapers in the country, which usually support the Democrats, have not called for Mr Clinton's resignation but are not agreed on the next step.

The New York Times, which finds the President in many ways a contemptible figure, is urging the censure compromise to be negotiated with Congress by a heavyweight figure such as former Senator George Mitchell. The quid-pro-quo would be that Mr Clinton abandon his ludicrous insistence that he did not have sexual relations with Ms Lewinsky.

The Washington Post takes a tougher line, arguing that the only way the facts will come out is if the impeachment process moves forward to a full investigation.

One suspects that for the Post there are still some hidden facts to emerge which could prove the "killer punch" that the videotape and 3,800 pages of material from the Starr investigation did not produce.

AFP adds:

Sudan's conservative Islamic-oriented newspapers shied away from the steamy details of the affair yesterday, preferring to put home news on their front pages.

Only two independent newspapers, Al-Rai Al-Aam and Alwan, carried reports of Mr Clinton's four-hour videotaped testimony.