CBS News Monthly Poll, February 2001 (ICPSR 3275)

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This poll, conducted February 10-12, 2001, is part of a continuing series of surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. The survey examined respondents' views about George W. Bush as president, including whether they approved of Bush's job performance, their opinions of Bush, whether Bush would be in charge and have control of his cabinet, the biggest problems facing President Bush and the Congress, whether Bush would be able to work with both parties to get things done, and whether Bush would be capable of handling foreign affairs. A second battery of questions queried the respondents on their views of Congress, including whether partisanship was still present in Washington, whether they approved of Congress's job performance, and whether the current Congress could do a better job then their predecessors, considering that the Congress was nearly evenly divided. Respondents were also asked for their opinions on taxes and the economy. In regard to taxes, respondents were asked if the budget surplus should be used to cut income taxes, pay down the national debt, preserve programs like Medicare and Social Security, or something else, what size income tax cut they would like to see passed, whether they approved of Bush's 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut over the next ten years, who they thought would benefit from the tax cut, how the tax cut would affect Social Security and Medicare, and what they would do with the extra money if the tax cut passed. With respect to the economy, respondents were queried about the condition of the national economy and whether it was getting better or worse, whether they felt the economy was in a recession, how they viewed the stock market and the future of the market, if it was a good time to buy a new car or house, if they were concerned about layoffs in the future, and whether their spending habits had changed because of concerns for the economy. Another set of questions dealt with America's power supplies. Respondents were asked if the electric companies, state government, or consumers were to blame for the power shortage in California, whether the federal government should help California or if it was a state issue, whether producing energy was more important than protecting the environment, and whether the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska should be opened for oil and natural gas drilling. Respondents' views were also elicited on the topics of retirement and marriage. Questions if applicable, probed the age at which the respondents expected to retire, their main reason for planning to retire after age 65, whether they thought that the Social Security system would have enough money to provide their expected benefits, whether they had begun to establish a separate savings program for retirement, what type of program it was, at what age they began this savings program, whether they would accept an early retirement if given the chance, and whether they expected their standard of living to be the same after retiring. In regard to marriage, respondents were asked if most Americans getting married currently took the institution of marriage as seriously as their parents' generation did, how long romance lasts during marriage, if married, what the quality of communication was between them and their spouses, if they could trust their spouses, and whether they were satisfied with marriage. Respondents were also asked for their opinions of former President Bill Clinton, former President George H.W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, education, race/ethnic identity, voter registration, political party affiliation, political orientation, marital status, number of children in the household, and household income.

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