ABC News/Washington Post Poll, August 1996 (ICPSR 2003)

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This poll, conducted August 1996, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Views were gathered on the 1996 presidential and congressional elections, as well as on President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, the economy, and foreign affairs. Respondents were polled on whether they were better or worse off financially compared to three years ago, whether it was more important to cut federal taxes or balance the federal budget, and whether they supported middle class tax cuts, even if it meant cutting spending on federal programs. Questions involving the upcoming presidential election polled respondents on the likelihood that they would vote, whom they would vote for (President Bill Clinton, Republican Bob Dole, or Reform Party candidate Ross Perot), whether each candidate had the qualities needed to be an effective president, the success of their political campaigns, and who the Republican vice-presidential candidate should be. Opinions were solicited on whether the presidential candidates had a vision for the future of the country, had high moral and ethical standards, cared about people like the respondent, had new ideas, and stood up for what they believed in, and which one would do a better job handling issues such as the economy, crime, the environment, and Medicare. Respondents were queried on whether they would vote for a Democratic or Republican candidate in the upcoming United States House of Representatives election, whether they approved of the way the United States Congress was doing its job, and whether Pat Buchanan should be allowed to make a speech at the Republican convention. Respondents were also asked which political party best represented their ideal of how the United States should be governed, whether the views of each party were too conservative or too liberal, whether respondents supported Ross Perot's new Reform Party, and whether the country needed a new political party. Views were also elicited on issues such as a federal balanced budget amendment, the death penalty, congressional term limits, gun control, organized prayer in public schools, a flat-tax system, recent changes to the welfare system, affirmative action, gay rights, and whether respondents would prefer a smaller government with fewer services or a larger government with many services. Several questions addressed whether abortion should be legal, whether the Republican vice-presidential candidate should support legal abortion, and whether the Republican platform should support a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. Other topics addressed respondents' level of confidence in the United States government to prevent future terrorist attacks, how worried they were about the possibility of major terrorist attacks in the United States, and whether the government should mount a war against terrorism, even if it cost billions of dollars and intruded on personal freedoms. Background variables include sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, employment status, education, religion, household income, social class, subjective size of community, labor union membership, political orientation, political party affiliation, and voter registration and participation history.

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This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited.