The Voters: Nixon Should Go

President Nixon may well have sensed that his public support was continuing to fall dramatically when he decided to appear on television and release edited transcripts of the Watergate tapes last week. Shortly before the President's announcement, Daniel Yankelovich, Inc., completed a poll for TIME showing that the percentage of Americans who wanted Nixon to resign or be impeached had jumped to 55%, from 39% last November and 30% last August (see accompanying chart). The results indicate that those who wanted to see Nixon out of office clearly would prefer that he resign rather than be impeached. If the President fails to resign, however, the people in the latest poll would be almost evenly split between impeachment (43%) and the President's staying in office (44%); 13% were not sure.

Only 28% in the Northeast wanted the President to stay in office. Even in the North Central states, where Nixon's support was the highest, just 44% thought he should continue in the White House. In the South, where the President has campaigned most extensively for support, only 38% wanted him to stay on. The President got his strongest backing from people who identified themselves as Republicans; 68% of them wanted him to remain.

Do you feel that Mr. Nixon has been acting as if he were above the law, or do you feel he has been acting within his rights?

Nov. 1973 April 1974

Above the law 47% 62%

Within his rights 42% 30%

Not sure 11% 8%

Do you feel that Mr. Nixon has violated his promise to the American people to get to the bottom of the Watergate affair, or do you feel that he is keeping his promise?

Nov. 1973 April 1974

Violated his promise 56% 68%

Kept his promise 32% 21%

Not sure 12% 11%

Among those Americans who would like to see the President resign, 86% feel that he has been acting as if he were above the law. and 91% believe that he has failed to get to the bottom of the Watergate mess.

How do you expect the Watergate affair to end--with Mr. Nixon staying in office, resigning or being impeached?

Aug. 1973 April 1974 Nixon staying in office 74% 49% Nixon resigning 7% 14%

Impeachment 5% 23%

Not sure 14% 14%

Unless the President is able to turn the tide of public opinion, the TIME/Yankelovich poll foresees an overwhelming Democratic victory in the elections this November. If elections for Congress were held today, registered voters would cast their ballots by a margin of almost 3 to 1 for Democratic candidates (52% for the Democrats, 19% for the Republicans). Only 58% of registered Republicans are now committed to their party's congressional candidates, and 62% of the Democrats who voted for Nixon in 1972 plan to support their party's nominees in the contests coming up this fall.

Far from being disillusioned with politics because of Watergate, 70% of those polled felt that voting in the next election was very important, and only 12% believed that their ballot would not make much difference. Incumbents of both parties are likely to be hurt by a throw-all-the-rascals-out reaction. Fully 52% of all the respondents polled agreed strongly or partly with the notion that all present congressional officeholders up for re-election in November should be bounced.

As for presidential candidates in 1976, Senator Edward Kennedy was judged "acceptable" by 55% and "not acceptable" by 39%, followed by Vice President Gerald Ford (43% to 37%), Alabama's Governor George Wallace (41% to 52%) and California's Governor Ronald Reagan (38% to 42%).

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