1 ABC NEWS POLL, NOVEMBER 1990 (ICPSR 9561) Principal Investigator ABC News First ICPSR Release May 1991 Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research P.O. Box 1248 Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 1 1 BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Publications based on ICPSR data collections should acknowledge those sources by means of bibliographic citations. To ensure that such source attributions are captured for social science bibliographic utilities, citations must appear in footnotes or in the reference section of publications. The bibliographic citation for this data collection is: ABC News. ABC NEWS POLL, NOVEMBER 1990. [Computer file]. Radnor, PA: Chilton Research Services [producer], 1990. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1991. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON USE OF ICPSR RESOURCES To provide funding agencies with essential information about use of archival resources and to facilitate the exchange of information about ICPSR participants' research activities, users of ICPSR data are requested to send to ICPSR bibliographic citations for each completed manuscript or thesis abstract. Please indicate in a cover letter which data were used. DATA DISCLAIMER The original collector of the data, ICPSR, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for uses of this collection or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses. 1 1 DATA COLLECTION DESCRIPTION ABC News ABC NEWS POLL, NOVEMBER 1990 (ICPSR 9561) SUMMARY: This data collection is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that evaluate the Bush presidency and solicit opinions on a variety of political and social issues. Topics covered include approval ratings for public officials (George Bush, Congress, the respondent's representative in Congress, Democrats, and Republicans) on the issues of job performance, handling of the economy, and handling of the situation caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the budget deficit reduction plan (and the income group that would be most affected by it), and the income group that Bush, Democrats, and Republicans cared most about. Respondents also were asked how important various political issues were to their vote choice on election day, if they planned to vote in the upcoming general election, for which party they would vote, and whether they would vote to re-elect their own representative. Other questions focusing on the situation in the Persian Gulf addressed the issues of the use of military force if necessary to ensure Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait, long-term military presence of the United States in the Gulf region, the use of military force should the economic embargo prove unsuccessful, the likelihood that the United States would go to war with Iraq, and American and other foreigners being held hostage by Iraq. Background information provided includes political alignment, registered voter status, 1988 presidential and congressional vote choices, education, age, race, income, sex, and state/region of residence. CLASS IV UNIVERSE: Adults aged 18 and over living in households with telephones in the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia. SAMPLING: Households were selected by random digit dialing. Within household, the respondent selected was the adult living in the household who last had a birthday and who was at home at the time of the interview. NOTE: The data contain blanks and alphabetic characters. A weight variable is included that must be used in any analysis. EXTENT OF COLLECTION: 1 data file + machine-readable documentation DATA FORMAT: Card Image File Structure: rectangular Cases: 1,015 Variables: 60 Record Length: 80 Records Per Case: 3 1 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 1 Chilton Research Services Study #8746 Radnor, Pennsylvania (11/90) ABC POLL #: 402 ABC NEWS NOVEMBER 1990 POLL Hello, I'm calling from Chilton Research Services. We are doing a survey for ABC News on some current events. Our research experts have randomly selected the person in your household I should speak to, so that all types of people will be represented in our survey. Thinking of all the male/female adults 18 years of age and older, living in this household, currently at home . . . . may I please speak to the one who last had a birthday? (IF NO MALE/FEMALE IN THE HOUSEHOLD, ASK: Then may I please speak to the female/male who last had a birthday?) (REPEAT INTRODUCTION IF NEEDED) 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way President George Bush is handling his job as president? (STOP GET ANSWER, THEN READ) Is that approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat? Approve strongly 1 Approve somewhat 2 2 (06) Disapprove somewhat 3 Disapprove strongly 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (08) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way your own representative to the U.S. House in Congress is handling his or her job? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (07) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 Page 2 ICPSR 9561 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling the nation's economy? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (09) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 5. Do you approve or disapprove the way the Democrats in Congress are handling the nation's economy? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (10) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling the nation's economy? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (11) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 7. Do you think the nation's economy is getting better, getting worse or staying the same? Getting better 1 Getting worse 2 2 (12) Staying the same 3 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the current plan to reduce the federal budget deficit? Approve 1 Disapprove 2 2 (13) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 3 9. Who do you think the deficit reduction plan hits hardest - low income people, middle income people or high income people? Low income people 1 Middle income people 2 2 (14) High income people 3 (vol) All the same 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 10. Overall, would you say Bush cares more about serving poor and lower income people, middle income people, upper income people, or would you say he cares equally about serving all people? Poor and lower income 1 Middle income 2 2 (15) Upper income 3 All equal 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 11. Overall, would you say the Democrats in Congress care more about serving poor and lower income people, middle income people, upper income people, or would you say they care equally about serving all people? Poor and lower income 1 Middle income 2 2 (16) Upper income 3 All equal 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 12. Overall, would you say the Republicans in Congress care more about serving poor and lower income people, middle income people, upper income people, or would you say they care equally about serving all people? Poor and lower income 1 Middle income 2 2 (17) Upper income 3 All equal 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 Page 4 ICPSR 9561 *AUTHOR NOTE: SCRAMBLE ITEMS* 13. I'm going to name some things which could be political issues in next Tuesday's elections for the United States House of Representatives. After each, please tell me whether it will be very important to you in deciding how to vote, somewhat important in deciding, somewhat unimportant or not very important to you at all in your voting decision. How important is (READ ITEM:) Very important 1 Somewhat important 2 Somewhat unimportant 3 Not very important 4 The environment 2 (18) Education 2 (19) Crime and drugs 2 (20) The federal budget deficit plan 2 (21) Abortion 2 (22) Federal taxes 2 (23) Iraq and the Persian Gulf 2 (24) The Savings and Loan situation 2 (25) The national economy 2 (26) 14. Some people have busier schedules than others. Because of this, some people who plan to vote can't always get around to it on Election Day. With your own personal daily schedule in mind, I'd like you to rate the chances that you will vote in next Tuesday's U.S. House of Representatives election in the Congressional district where you live - are you absolutely certain to vote, will you probably vote, are the chances about 50-50, less than 50-50, or don't you think you will vote tomorrow? Absolutely certain to vote 1 Will probably vote 2 2 (27) Chances 50-50 3 Less than 50-50 4 Don't think will vote 5 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 15. Thinking about the U.S. House of Representatives election next Tuesday in the congressional district where you live. If that election were being held today, for whom would you vote: the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate? Democratic candidate 1 (SKIP TO Q17) Republican candidate 2 (SKIP TO Q17) 2 (28) (VOL) Neither 3 (SKIP TO Q17) (VOL) Wouldn't vote 4 (SKIP TO Q17) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 5 16. Do you lean more toward the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate? Democratic candidate 1 Republican candidate 2 2 (29) (VOL) Neither 3 (VOL) Wouldn't vote 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 17. Right now are you inclined to vote to re-elect your representative in Congress in next Tuesday's election or are you inclined to look around for someone else to vote for? Vote to reelect representative 1 Inclined to look for someone else 2 2 (30) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 18. Overall, which party, the Democrats or the Republicans, do you trust to do a better job in coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years? Democrats 1 Republicans 2 2 (31) (vol)Neither 3 (vol)Both equally 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 19. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George Bush is handling the situation caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait? (STOP GET ANSWER, THEN READ:) Is that approve/disapprove strongly or approve/disapprove not strongly? Approve strongly 1 Approve not strongly 2 2 (32) Disapprove strongly 3 Disapprove not strongly 4 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 20. Do you agree or disagree that the United States should take all action necessary, including the use of military force, to make sure that Iraq withdraws its forces from Kuwait? Agree 1 Disagree 2 2 (33) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 Page 6 ICPSR 9561 21. Should the United States keep military forces in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf until Iraq withdraws its troops from Kuwait, even if it means keeping American forces there for many months or even years? Yes 1 No 2 2 (34) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 22. If the economic embargo does not make Iraq withdraw from Kuwait, should the United States attack Iraq militarily to force it out of Kuwait or not? Yes, should attack 1 No, should not attack 2 2 (37) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 23. Just your best guess, do you think the United States is going to get involved in a war with Iraq? Yes 1 No 2 2 (35) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 24. If Bush decided to go to war with Iraq do you think he should ask permission from Congress before launching an attack, or not? Yes 1 No 2 (SKIP TO Q26) 2 (38) DK/No opinion 8 (SKIP TO Q26) NA/Refused 9 (SKIP TO Q26) 25. What if Bush felt there wasn't enough time to get permission from Congress. Under that circumstance should he launch the attack or not? Yes 1 No 2 2 (39) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 26. As you may know, Iraq is holding hundreds of Americans and other foreigners as hostages. If the United States believes the American hostages are being mistreated, should the United States attack Iraq or not? Yes, should attack 1 No, should not attack 2 (SKIP TO Q28) 2 (53) DK/No opinion 8 (SKIP TO Q28) NA/Refused 9 (SKIP TO Q28) 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 7 27. If the hostages might be killed in such an attack, should the United States attack anyway or not? Yes, should attack 1 No, should not attack 2 2 (54) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 28. If there is a war, should the United States bomb Iraqi military targets even if the hostages might be killed as a result? Yes, should bomb Iraq 1 No, should not bomb Iraq 2 2 (55) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 29. All in all, do you approve of the U.S. sending troops to the Persian Gulf, or do you think we should have stayed out? Approve of sending troops 1 Should of stayed out 2 2 (36) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 Now just a few more questions to help classify your answers. 30. Generally speaking, do you usually think of yourself as: (READ LIST) A Democrat 1 (SKIP TO Q.29) A Republican 2 (SKIP TO Q.29) 2 (40) An Independent 3 Or what? 4 --- DO NOT READ BELOW--- DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 31. Do you lean more towards the: (READ LIST) Democratic Party 1 Or, Republican Party 2 2 (41) (VOL.)Neither 3 --- DO NOT READ BELOW--- DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 Page 8 ICPSR 9561 32. Can you tell me whether you are registered to vote at your present address? Yes 1 No 2 (SKIP TO Q.33) 2 (42) DK/No opinion 8 (SKIP TO Q.33) NA/Refused 9 (SKIP TO Q.33) 33. In talking to people about elections, we often find out that a lot of people aren't able to vote because they were not registered, or they were sick, or they just didn't have time. How about you-- do you remember for sure whether you voted in the November, 1988 presidential election when George Bush ran against Michael Dukakis? Yes 1 No 2 (SKIP TO Q.33) 2 (43) DK/No opinion 8 (SKIP TO Q.33) NA/Refused 9 (SKIP TO Q.33) 34. Which candidate did you vote for? (DO NOT READ LIST) Bush 1 Dukakis 2 2 (44) Other 3 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 35. Do you remember for sure whether you voted in the November 1986 U.S. House of Representatives election in the congressional district where you live? Yes 1 No 2 2 (45) DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 36. What was the last grade of school you completed? 8th grade or less 1 2 (46) Some high school 2 Graduated high school 3 Some college 4(ASK IF SCHOOL WAS A TECHNICAL SCHOOL IF IT WAS, CIRCLE CODE 3, FOR HIGH SCHOOL) Graduated College 5 Post-graduate 6 DK/No opinion 8 NA/Refused 9 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 9 37. In what year were you born? DK/No opinion 8888 2 (47-50) NA/Refused 9999 38. Are you of Hispanic origin or background? (IF "YES," ASK:) Are you White Hispanic or Black Hispanic? (IF "NO," ASK:) are you white, black, or some other race? White 1 Black 2 2 (51) White Hispanic 3 Black Hispanic 4 Hispanic(no race given) 5 Other Race 6 NA/Refused 9 39. If you added together the yearly incomes, before taxes, of all the members of your household for last year, 1989, would the total be: (READ LIST) Under $8,000 1 $8,000 but less than $12,000 2 2 (52) $12,000 but less than $20,000 3 $20,000 but less than $30,000 4 $30,000 but less than $50,000 5 Or more than $50,000 6 (DO NOT READ)NA/Refused 9 921. RESPONDENT'S SEX: Male 1 Female 2 1 (59) 1 Page 10 ICPSR 9561 CHILTON STATE 1 (60-61) CHILTON REGION 1 (62-63) ABC STATE 1 (64-65) ABC REGION 1 (66-67) ABC 3-LETTER STATE 1 (68-70) [ALPHA] JULIAN DATE 1 (71-75) SELECT SEX (B-DAY) 1 (76) SELECT SEX 1 (77) RECODED AGE 1 (78) 18-30 1 31-44 2 45-60 3 61+ 4 Refused 9 DK/NA blank WEIGHT 3 (25-32) 1 implied decimal RESPONDENT ID ALL DECKS (1-5) DECK # ALL DECKS (80) 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 11 CHILTON STATE CODES (NO POLLING DONE IN ALASKA OR HAWAII) 01 Maine 25 West Virginia 02 New Hampshire 26 Virginia 03 Vermont 27 North Carolina 04 Massachusetts 28 South Carolina 05 Connecticut 29 Georgia 06 Rhode Island 30 Florida 07 New York 31 Mississippi 08 New Jersey 32 Alabama 09 Pennsylvania 33 Tennessee 10 Ohio 34 Kentucky 11 Indiana 35 Arkansas 12 Illinois 36 Louisiana 13 Michigan 37 Texas 14 Wisconsin 38 Oklahoma 15 Minnesota 39 New Mexico 16 Iowa 40 Arizona 17 Missouri 41 Nevada 18 Kansas 42 Utah 19 Nebraska 43 Colorado 20 South Dakota 44 Wyoming 21 North Dakota 45 Montana 22 Delaware 46 Idaho 23 Maryland 47 Washington 24 District of Columbia 48 Oregon 49 California 1 Page 12 ICPSR 9561 CHILTON REGION CODES 1 NEW ENGLAND Connecticut New Hampshire Maine Rhode Island Massachusetts Vermont 2 MIDDLE ATLANTIC New Jersey New York Pennsylvania 3 EAST NORTH CENTRAL Illinois Ohio Indiana Wisconsin Michigan 4 WEST NORTH CENTRAL Iowa Nebraska Kansas North Dakota Minnesota South Dakota Missouri 5 SOUTH ATLANTIC Delaware North Carolina District of Columbia South Carolina Florida Virginia Georgia West Virginia Maryland 6 EAST SOUTH CENTRAL Alabama Mississippi Kentucky Tennessee 7 WEST SOUTH CENTRAL Arkansas Oklahoma Louisiana Texas 8 MOUNTAIN Arizona Nevada Colorado New Mexico Idaho Utah Montana Wyoming 9 PACIFIC Alaska Oregon California Washington Hawaii 1 ICPSR 9561 Page 13 ABC NEWS STATE CODES ALA 01 Alabama LAS 02 Alaska ARI 03 Arizona ARK 04 Arkansas CAL 05 California COL 06 Colorado CON 07 Connecticut DEL 08 Delaware D/C 09 District of Columbia FLO 10 Florida GEO 11 Georgia HAW 12 Hawaii IDA 13 Idaho ILL 14 Illinois IND 15 Indiana IOW 16 Iowa KAN 17 Kansas KEN 18 Kentucky LOU 19 Louisiana MAI 20 Maine MAR 21 Maryland MAS 22 Massachusetts MIC 23 Michigan MIN 24 Minnesota MIS 25 Mississippi ISS 26 Missouri MON 27 Montana NEB 28 Nebraska NEV 29 Nevada N/H 30 New Hampshire N/J 31 New Jersey N/M 32 New Mexico N/Y 33 New York N/C 34 North Carolina N/D 35 North Dakota OHI 36 Ohio OKL 37 Oklahoma ORE 38 Oregon PEN 39 Pennsylvania R/I 40 Rhode Island S/C 41 South Carolina S/D 42 South Dakota TEN 43 Tennessee TEX 44 Texas UTA 45 Utah VER 46 Vermont VIR 47 Virginia WAS 48 Washington W/V 49 West Virginia WIS 50 Wisconsin WYO 51 Wyoming 1 Page 14 ICPSR 9561 ABC NEWS REGION CODES 1 EAST 2 MIDWEST Connecticut Illinois Delaware Indiana District of Columbia Iowa Maine Kansas Maryland Michigan Massachusetts Minnesota New Hampshire Missouri New Jersey Nebraska New York North Dakota Pennsylvania Ohio Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont Wisconsin 3 SOUTH 4 WEST Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona Florida California Georgia Colorado Kentucky Hawaii Louisiana Idaho Mississippi Montana North Carolina Nevada Oklahoma New Mexico South Carolina Oregon Tennessee Utah Texas Washington Virginia Wyoming West Virginia