Poll: 51 Percent Thought Clinton Did Better

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 6) -- An instant poll taken immediately after Sunday night's presidential debate found 51 percent of likely voters thought President Bill Clinton did the better job in the debate, compared to 32 percent for Republican Bob Dole.

But nearly three-quarters thought Dole did better than they expected and the former senator got high marks for toughness and honesty, while 51 percent thought Clinton exaggerated the truth during the debate.

The CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll numbers were based on interviews, conducted between 10:30 and 11 p.m., with 615 likely voters who watched the debates. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Other highlights of the snap poll:

Only about one-quarter of people surveyed -- 23 percent -- thought the debate would have been more useful in deciding how to vote had Reform Party nominee Ross Perot been included.
A majority of people surveyed -- 52 percent -- said they are better off now than they were four years ago, compared to 34 percent who disagreed.
Only one-third thought Dole's criticisms of Clinton were too harsh.

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