CBS News/New York Times National Survey, June 3-6, 1991 (ICPSR 9863)

Summary View help for Summary

In addition to providing an ongoing evaluation of the Bush presidency, this survey polled respondents on a variety of social and political topics including political parties, economics, racism, the Persian Gulf War, patriotism, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union, China, and health care policy. Respondents were asked whether they approved of George Bush's handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. Detailed queries on political topics included items on the most important problem facing the country and the party that could best handle it, and the party best able to control unemployment, reduce the federal deficit, keep the United States out of war, deal with foreign economic competition, and insure the prosperity of the country. Respondents were also asked which party was more concerned with the needs of people like themselves, which was more likely to make sure that United States military defenses are strong and that children get a better education in the public schools, which was more likely to improve the health care system, which party favored the rich, the middle class, and the poor, which party cared more about the needs and problems of women, men, Blacks, and Whites, and which was more likely to waste tax money. Economic questions focused on whether trade restrictions were necessary to protect domestic industries, what the condition of the national economy was, whether the United States was in an economic recession, and whether the economy was getting better. Questions concerning racism asked whether preference should be given to hiring Blacks where there had been discrimination in the past, whether preferential hiring or promotion of Blacks hurts Whites, and whether the respondent had ever been discriminated against. Questions focusing on the Persian Gulf War included whether the war to defeat Iraq was worth the cost, whether the results of the war would make the chance for peace in the Middle East more likely, whether the United States should have stopped fighting when Iraqi troops left Kuwait or continued fighting Iraq until Saddam Hussein was removed from power, if the respondent felt proud about what the United States had done in the Persian Gulf, and whether the United States made a mistake by getting involved in the war against Iraq. Other questions examined how patriotic the respondent felt, whether people were more patriotic, and whether politicians talk about patriotism as a means of winning votes. Respondents were also asked whether their opinion of Mikhail Gorbachev was favorable, whether they favored helping the Soviet Union reform its economy by providing economic aid, whether it was more important to criticize China's suppression of human rights or to maintain good relations with China, and whether China should receive the same trading privileges as other friendly nations. Questions regarding specific health policies included whether abortion should be available to all or be available with stricter limits, whether the government should require employers to make health insurance available, and whether the respondent favored or opposed national health insurance. Respondents were asked how much they thought they knew about AIDS, whether the United States should keep people who have tested positive for AIDS from entering the country, whether there had been a lot of discrimination against people with AIDS, whether they had sympathy for those who have the disease, what age children should be told about AIDS and the specific ways to prevent transmitting it, if the government should require health care workers to be tested for AIDS, whether the respondent had changed his/her sexual habits due to fear of getting AIDS, and whether the respondent knew someone who had the disease or who had died from it. Background information includes the respondent's voting behavior in the 1988 presidential election, party affiliation, political orientation, voter registration status, age, race, religion, education, marital status, parental status, employment, and family income.

Citation View help for Citation

Export Citation:

• RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
• EndNote

Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms

Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)