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Curated
CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, May 2003 (ICPSR 3825)
Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2003-05-01--2003-05-31
This poll conducted, May 9-12, 2003, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit opinions on political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his overall job performance, as well as his handling of military action against Iraq, foreign policy issues, and the economy. Views were elicited concerning whether George Bush exhibited strong leadership qualities, whether he could be categorized as more of a liberal, moderate, or conservative, whether he cared about people like the respondent, whether he made the right decisions about the economy, the degree to which the condition of the economy was due to his economic decisions, whether his policies favored the rich, the middle class, or the poor or if everyone was treated equally according to his economic policies, the amount of influence business had on his policies, the amount of influence the religious right had on his policies, the legitimacy of Bush's 2000 presidential election victory, and the appropriateness of his landing on an aircraft carrier in a fighter jet to deliver a speech. Respondents were asked about the most important issue facing the United States, the likelihood of a major terrorist attack on the United States, who was winning the war against terrorism, the national economy and whether it was improving, getting worse, or staying the same, whether the economy was better or worse than two years ago, whether the respondent's financial situation was better or worse than two years ago, how concerned the respondent was that a member of their family would lose his or her job in the next year, and the state of relations between the United States and European countries compared to two years ago. Respondents were also asked to assess the degree of progress made by the Bush administration on improving the economy, creating new jobs, reducing prescription costs, improving public schools, ensuring Social Security, and developing a plan to protect the United States from terrorism. Specific questions concerning the economy addressed the seriousness of the state budget problems, whether cutting taxes or reducing the federal deficit would have a greater positive effect on the economy, the effect of the 2001 tax cuts on the economy, the respondent's knowledge of the current tax cut proposal, and the probable effects of a tax cut on the economy. Respondents were asked for their opinions of the Democratic and Republican parties, whether each party had a clear plan for the future, whether respondents were going to vote Democratic or Republican in the 2004 presidential election, if they could name any of the Democratic presidential candidates, and regardless of respondents' voting history, their opinions on which party was more likely to foster a strong economy, strengthen military defenses, create new jobs, make medication more affordable for the elderly, improve public education, improve the health care system, institute a fair tax system, and protect the environment. Respondents were polled on whether the health care system needed to have slight improvements, fundamental changes, or a complete overhaul, whether it was more important to cut taxes or to ensure that every resident had access to health care, how knowledgeable they were about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and how it might affect their family, whether children and teenagers were more overweight than when the respondent was young, the reasons for the increase in overweight children, whether their children ate more, less, or the same amount of fast food as they did at that age, and whether the increased numbers of overweight children and teenagers constituted a major health problem. Specific questions addressed military action in Iraq. Respondents were queried on their knowledge of business contracts to rebuild Iraq, the likelihoodthat those contracts would go to the most qualified business without regard to political support or affiliation, whether the war was worth the costs if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was not found, whether Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks, whether the war was worth the costs if weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq, whether the war against Iraq was part of the war against terrorism and if it was, whether it was a minor or major part, whether the Bush administration accurately estimated the number of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and whether the Bush administration overexaggerated the number of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to build support for the war. Other questions focused on whether the United States should pay for the cost of rebuilding Iraq, whether the United States or the United Nations should lead the establishment of a new government in Iraq, whether the United States or the United Nations should lead the restoration of order and basic services in Iraq, and whether the United States should have enlisted the help of the United Nations to manage the current situation in Iraq. Background variables include age, sex, ethnicity, 2002 household income, education, religious orientation, marital status, political orientation, political ideology, voter status, whether the respondent voted in the 2000 United States presidential election, if the respondent was prevented from voting, and if the respondent voted, for whom they voted (Democrat Al Gore, Republican George W. Bush, Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan, or Green Party candidate Ralph Nader).
Curated
ABC News/Washington Post War Poll #1, April 2003 (ICPSR 3783)
Released/updated on: 2003-07-30
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2003-04-01--2003-04-30
This special topic poll, conducted April 3, 2003, was undertaken to assess public opinion on the war against Iraq. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way President George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether they supported or opposed the war, how the war was going, how long the war would last, the chances that the United States would become bogged down in a drawn-out war in Iraq, and whether Bush, his advisors, and military leaders underestimated the difficulty of the war. Views were sought on whether the number of United States military casualties had been acceptable, whether additional military casualties were anticipated, whether the Iraqi resistance had been tougher or weaker than expected, whether efforts to avoid civilian casualties had been adequate, and whether the battle for control of Baghdad would be difficult or easy. Those polled were asked whether weapons of mass destruction must be found for the war to be justified. A series of questions addressed the illness known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Topics covered whether respondents were concerned that they or someone in their family might catch SARS and whether they were more concerned that they or someone in their family might catch SARS or be a victim of a terrorist attack. Background information on respondents includes gender, and political party.