CBS News Monthly Poll, August 2001 (ICPSR 3346)

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This poll 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 and his handling of the presidency, including whether they approved of Bush's job performance, whether Bush was in touch with what average people think, and whether Bush would compromise with the Democrats in Congress in order to get things done. Opinions were also gathered on Vice President Dick Cheney, former Vice President Al Gore, and Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords. Respondents were queried about what they thought was the most important problem for the President and Congress to address in the coming year, whether they approved of Congress' job performance, whether their opinions of the Democratic and Republican parties were favorable or unfavorable, and whether they thought the Democrats in Congress should work with Bush in order to get things done or if they should stick to their positions even if it meant not getting as much accomplished. Another set of questions queried respondents on their views of the economy, including whether they felt the economy was getting better, worse, or staying the same, how they rated the overall condition of the stock market, whether they felt the stock market would go up or down in the next year, how much attention they paid to what happens in the stock market, and whether they felt the United States was in an economic recession. Respondents' opinions were also solicited on Social Security and the federal budget. Questions were posed regarding whether Bush or congressional Democrats were more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security, keeping the economy strong, and spending taxpayers' money. Respondents were also asked if they thought it was possible to preserve programs like Social Security and Medicare, to increase spending on the military and pay for the tax cut enacted by Bush at the same time, whether the Social Security system would have the money available to provide the benefits they were expecting for retirement, whether individuals should be allowed to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own, whether the government should be responsible to make up for losses as a result of personal investing, how likely respondents would be to invest some of their own Social Security taxes in the stock market, and whether the government should be allowed to use the Social Security surplus to help fund other government programs. In regard to the budget surplus, respondents were asked if the lower budget surplus was a result of a slowing economy or due to the tax cut, if getting the tax cut was worth a lowering of the budget surplus, if a smaller budget surplus was a good thing, whether they believed the White House or the Congressional Budget Office's budget surplus figures, if the smaller surplus would lead to government spending cuts in domestic programs, and who was to blame for the shrinking budget surplus. Several questions also probed respondents' views on the environment. Opinions were solicited on Bush's handling of the environment, whether producing energy or protecting the environment was more important, whether the oil industry had too much influence on the Bush administration's policies, and whether respondents approved of Bush's energy bill. Respondents were also asked whether they were worried about having enough savings for retirement, whether investment in the stock market was safe, how much they knew about investing, whether they currently had money invested in the stock market, whether they currently had any retirement savings such as a pension plan or 401(k), and whether they had changed their approach to investing as a result of what had happened in the stock market over the past year. A final set of questions asked thosepolled whether military spending should be increased, whether the priority for government spending should be the military or domestic programs, whether they supported United States development of a missile defense system, and whether they supported the death penalty. 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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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.

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