Studies
39 resultsABC News O.J. Simpson Viewpoint Poll, October 1995
This special topic poll sought respondents' views on the O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict and its effect on the country. Those queried were asked for their opinions on media coverage of the case, motivations for that coverage, and whether other news stories were abandoned to cover the Simpson case in depth. Respondents were asked to comment on television cameras in courtrooms and the effect the Simpson trial had on race relations in the United States. Demographic variables include sex and race.
ABC News/Washington Post Monthly Poll, January 2010
This poll, fielded January 12-15, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,083 adults was surveyed, including an oversample of African Americans. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit, and whether they had a favorable opinion of President Obama. Respondents were queried on whether they thought the country was headed in the right direction, and whether they were confident that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party would make the right decisions for the country's future. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way that Nancy Pelosi was handling her job as Speaker of the House, whether they approved of the way Harry Reid was handling his job as Majority Leader of the Senate, and what was the one most important problem they would like to see President Obama and the Congress deal with this year. Information was collected on whether respondents thought Obama had accomplished a lot during his presidency, whether he was keeping most of his major campaign promises, and who they thought was to blame for the country's economic situation. Respondents were queried on how they thought the United States campaign against terrorism was going, whether the federal government should investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy, and whether police and other authorities should or should not be permitted to use personal characteristics like religion, or ethnicity, or nationality in deciding who to search in security lines at airports or other locations. Respondents were asked whether they approved or disapproved of President Obama's decision to close the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, whether they support or oppose the proposed changes to the health care system, whether they preferred the public option, and whether they have health insurance. Respondents were queried on whether they thought the federal government should try to limit the size of the bonuses banks can pay to their top employees, whether they would support or oppose a special tax on bonuses over one million dollars, and whether they would support or oppose higher taxes targeted at banks that do a lot of trading in the stock market. Finally, respondents were asked whether Obama's presidency has helped or hurt race relations in the United States, whether they favor smaller government with fewer services, or larger government with more services, whether they favor or oppose legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal and medical use, and whether they voted in the last presidential election. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, household income, education level, political party affiliation, political philosophy, political ideology, religious preference, and whether the respondent is a born-again Christian.
ABC News/Washington Post Poll, August 2008
This poll, fielded August 19-22, 2008, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. A national sample of 1,298 adults was surveyed, including an oversample of African Americans. Information was collected on how closely respondents were following the 2008 presidential race, the chances that they would vote in the upcoming presidential election in November, and whether or not they voted in the presidential election in November of 2004. Respondents were also queried on which candidate they would vote for in the presidential election, and who they would like to see win the Democratic nomination. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether they thought the country was headed in the right direction, and what was the single most important issue in their choice for president. Several questions asked respondents to compare Barack Obama and John McCain, and which candidate they trusted to handle issues such as the war in Iraq, energy policy, international affairs, the economy, and taxes. Respondents were queried on their level of enthusiasm for each presidential candidate, whether they thought Obama had the kind of experience it takes to serve effectively as president, and whether they thought McCain would lead the country in a new direction or mainly continue in Geroge W. Bush's direction. Respondents were also asked how comfortable they would be with McCain taking office at the age of 72 and Obama being the first African American President. Respondents were also asked how important they thought the Democratic and Republican national conventions would be in deciding how to vote for president in November. Respondents were queried on whether they thought it was possible for their child to grow up and become president, whether they thought that Obama's nomination for president represents progress for all African Americans or whether they thought it was only a single case that does not reflect broader progress for African Americans overall. Respondents were asked whether they thought Obama would serve as a leading role model to young African American men, whether Obama's nomination as the first African American presidential candidate made them more proud to me an American, whether they thought the war in Iraq was worth fighting, and whether the United States is making progress toward restoring civil order in Iraq. Lastly, respondents were asked whether they thought Russia was a close ally of the United States, how concerned they were that current tensions between the United States and Russia could lead to a new cold war, whether they thought abortion should be legal, and whether they would be more likely to vote for McCain if he picked a vice-presidential candidate who supports legal abortion. Demographic variables include sex, age, marital status, race, income, voter registration status, political ideology, political party affiliation, political philosophy, education level, religious preference, military status, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.