ABC News/Washington Post 2004 Voters Poll, October 2003 (ICPSR 3943)

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This special topic poll, conducted October 26-29, 2003, was undertaken to gather voters' opinions regarding the upcoming 2004 presidential election. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency, the economy, education, Social Security, taxes, health insurance, and international affairs, and how they rated the importance of these issues in deciding whom to vote for in the 2004 presidential election. Those polled were asked whether they believed President Bush understood people like themselves, whether he was a strong leader, and whether he was honest and trustworthy. A series of questions addressed the condition of the national economy, whether the respondent and most Americans were better or worse off financially than when George W. Bush first became president, and the degree to which President Bush was responsible for the federal budget deficit. Specific questions asked whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting, if it was separate from or part of the war on terrorism, whether the number of military casualties was acceptable or unacceptable, whether respondents would support or oppose Congress spending an additional 87 billion dollars for the war and rebuilding of Iraq, and whether it was more important to keep United States military forces in Iraq until civil order could be restored or to withdraw forces to avoid further military casualties. Questions were posed regarding how closely respondents followed the 2004 presidential election, whether they would vote for George W. Bush or a Democratic nominee for president, how likely they were to vote, whether the Republican and Democratic parties were being led in the right direction, how closely each party reflected the respondents' beliefs on important issues, whether the Democratic Party was too willing or not willing enough to compromise with President Bush, and whether there should be more than two major political parties. Democratic-leaning respondents were asked whom they would vote for in the Democratic presidential primary (Senator Joe Lieberman, United States Representative Dick Gephardt, Senator John Kerry, Senator John Edwards, civil rights activist Al Sharpton, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, United States Representative Dennis Kucinich, former Senator Carol Moseley Braun, or General Wesley Clark), how satisfied they were with the choice of Democratic nominees, which candidate had the best chance of defeating Bush, and whether respondents preferred a candidate who agreed with them on most issues or one who would have an easier time defeating Bush. Respondents were also polled on how much they felt they knew about the Democratic nominees and whether a candidate's personal qualities or positions on issues was most important. Additional questions asked respondents if they approved of the way the U.S. Congress was doing its job, how satisfied they were with the way the federal government and the political process worked, how well the United States campaign against terrorism was progressing, and whether they felt the federal government was threatening their own personal rights and freedoms. Background variables include age, sex, religion, education, ethnicity, subjective size of community, household income, political orientation, political party affiliation, if respondents were registered to vote, if they voted in the 2000 presidential election and if so, for whom (Republican George W. Bush, Democrat Al Gore, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, or Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan), and if a household member was in military service, a military veteran, a reservist, or belonged to a labor union.

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