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Bill Clinton: Leaning to the Left
52% View 42nd President as Liberal
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William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency was one marked by many firsts. He was the first Baby Boomer president elected in the U.S. He was the first Democrat re-elected to a second term since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the first president since Andrew Johnson to be impeached.

Since his return to private life, Clinton has been the face of high profile humanitarian missions alongside his predecessor, President George H.W. Bush, including relief for the victims of the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. He’s also worked through the William J. Clinton Foundation to advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness programs in the Asia-Pacific region and promote children’s health through an agreement with soft drink manufacturers to stop selling sugary beverages in primary and secondary schools in the United States.

Though he tried to position himself as a moderate, 52% of respondents of a recent Rasmussen Reports survey identify Clinton as politically liberal. Twenty-seven percent (27%) consider him moderate and 12% say he’s conservative.

Interpretations of his ideology are clearly skewed along political party lines. An overwhelming majority of Republican voters (75%) consider Clinton liberal, 12% say he’s moderate and 7% say conservative. The numbers are more evenly distributed among Democrats. An equal percentage (37%) say Clinton is liberal and moderate; 18% of Democrats consider him conservative.

Men and women over 40 are in near total agreement on their assessments of the former president’s political leanings. However, those under 40 vastly disagree. For men under 40, 35% say he’s liberal, 34% moderate and 23% conservative. A clear majority of women under 40 say Clinton is liberal (61%), 11% say he’s moderate and 16% say conservative.

Results of the survey place Clinton 57 points to the left of the American political center. That end of the spectrum is a family affair; Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton falls 55 points to the left. By extreme contrast, his successor, President George W. Bush, can be found 29 points to the right of center.

The political center is calculated by subtracting the number of liberals from the number of conservatives among the general public (35% conservative, 18% liberal for a net +17). For President Clinton, 12% conservative minus 52% liberal equals a net minus 40. The minus 40 reading for President Clinton is 57 points away from the plus 17 reading for the general public.

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Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports Election Edge™ Premium Service offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage available anywhere.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

Survey of 1,000 Adults
August 8-9, 2006

Do you consider Bill Clinton conservative, moderate or liberal?

Conservative

12%

Moderate

27%

Liberal

52%

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