Looks like the approval ratings were really quite high during the whole crisis. I don't remember them being quite this high, but they were:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-presapp0605-31.htmlWhat i do clearly remember though was that the public seemed to be pretty much agreed on the fact that impeachment was an overreach in this case, and they rallied behind the guy that they overwhelmingly voted for, despite his many missteps and basic misconduct. For once, in my view, the public was right.
Perjury in a civil case, even in matters deemed immaterial to the case itself, is certainly not conduct becoming of the president of the United States. But abuse of Congressional impeachment powers is worse. And, despite the arcane phrases of art like "high crimes and misdemeanors" and all the ambiguities surrounding them, the public widely intuitively understood that.
