Showing 1 – 10 of 10 results.
Curated
CBS News/New York Times Michigan State Poll, September 2000 (ICPSR 3125)
Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-09-22--2000-09-25
This special topic poll, fielded September 22-25, 2000, queried residents of Michigan on the upcoming 2000 presidential race and the 2000 Michigan state Senate race, and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton, Texas governor George W. Bush, Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman, Michigan senator Spencer Abraham, Michigan representative Debbie Stabenow, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Regarding the upcoming presidential election, respondents were asked how much attention they were paying to the campaign, for whom they would vote, and whether that decision was firm. They were also asked which of the two candidates, Bush or Gore, cared more about people like the respondent, whether the two candidates had strong qualities of leadership, and whether the candidates shared the moral values of most Americans. Opinions were gathered from respondents on whether the candidates spent more time attacking each other or explaining what they would do as president, and whether these attacks seemed unfair. Respondents were also asked if the budget surplus should be used to pay down the national debt, cut income taxes, or preserve programs such as Social Security and Medicare, how important reducing costs of prescription drugs for the elderly was, how they felt about trade and tuition vouchers, and which presidential candidate's views on these issues most closely resembled their own. Opinions were elicited on whether Gore or Bush, if elected, would improve the economy, trade, health care, education, prescription drugs for the elderly, and the environment, and if they would reduce taxes. In regard to presidential campaign commercials for the November 2000 election, respondents were asked if they had seen any campaign commercials, whether these ads showed what the candidates stood for or if they attacked their opponent, and whether these ads made respondents feel better or worse about Bush or Gore. With respect to the upcoming Senate race, respondents were asked which candidate they were most likely to vote for and whether that decision was firm, if Abraham and Stabenow had spent more time attacking each other or explaining what they would do as senator, and whether these attacks seemed unfair. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party, political orientation, membership in a union, Hispanic descent, marital status, and family income.
Curated
CBS News Monthly Poll, February 2001 (ICPSR 3275)
Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
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.
Curated
CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #4, January 1999 (ICPSR 2720)
Released/updated on: 2009-04-29
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1999-01-30--1999-02-01
This poll, fielded January 30-February 1, 1999, 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. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton, the United States Congress, Vice President Al Gore, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, and the Republican and Democratic parties. Respondents were next asked a series of questions comparing the two main political parties, including which party had better ideas for both solving the nation's current problems and for leading the country into the 21st century, as well as which party was better at upholding traditional family values. Opinions were also elicited as to which party was the more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security, to improve education and the health care system, and to reduce taxes and crime. Respondents were also asked how they would recommend that Congress use the budget surplus projected over the coming years, including cutting taxes, paying down the national debt, and preserving programs like Medicare and Social Security. Particular emphasis was given in this poll to the Senate impeachment trial of President Clinton. Respondents were queried as to how closely they were following the news of the trial, whether they approved of the Senate's handling of the matter, and what their expectations were for the length of the trial. Opinions were elicited on the need for witness testimony, whether President Clinton's actions were serious enough to warrant removal from office, and the constitutional necessity of a final Senate vote. Other questions focused on each political party's role in the impeachment matter, whether the parties were working in a partisan manner, whether the parties' actions would help or hurt their respective images and prospects in the 2000 election, and whether House or Senate members of each party handled themselves more responsibly. Respondents were also asked whether they had learned anything new from the trial, whether the Senate should take into account public opinion when making their decisions, how the respondent wanted his or her senator to vote, and whether the respondents cared about the outcome. Finally, respondents were asked for their predictions as to whether President Clinton would be removed from office and, if not, whether he could still remain effective as president. Attention was also directed toward the Republican party, in terms of whether it was out of touch with the American people--or even rank and file Republicans--on the impeachment matter, and whether the party was too conservative. Background information on respondents includes age, race, sex, education, religion, marital status, political party, political orientation, recent voting history, and family income.
Curated
CBS News Post-Presidential Address to Congress Poll, February 2001 (ICPSR 3277)
Released/updated on: 2005-12-15
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2001-02-01--2001-02-28
This poll, conducted February 27, 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. Respondents were asked for their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, following Bush's first address to Congress earlier in the evening. Views were sought on the proposals outlined by Bush during the address, including income tax cuts, increased education spending, increased funding for Social Security and Medicare, and using the federal budget surplus to reduce the national debt. Respondents were queried as to whether they thought Bush or other individuals were in charge of the administration, whether Democrats would work with the administration, and whether the priorities of the Bush administration were shared by the American people. Respondents were also asked whether they supported Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut and whether it would be possible to preserve social programs after such tax a cut. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, marital status, education, religion, children in household, race, Hispanic descent, and household income.
Curated
CBS News Monthly Poll #3, October 2000 (ICPSR 3225)
Released/updated on: 2002-03-07
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-10-01--2000-10-31
This poll, conducted October 29-31, 2000, 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 study was conducted to assess respondents' interest in and opinions about the 2000 presidential election. Respondents were asked whether they intended to vote in the upcoming presidential election on November 7, 2000, and for whom they would vote if the election were held on the day of the survey, given a choice among the following candidates: Vice President Al Gore and Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman (Democratic Party), Texas governor George W. Bush and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney (Republican Party), conservative commentator Pat Buchanan (Reform Party), and consumer advocate Ralph Nader (Green Party). Respondents were asked to give their opinions of Gore and his job performance as vice president, Bush and his job performance as governor of Texas, Cheney, Lieberman, Buchanan, and Nader. Nader supporters were asked whether they would consider changing their vote in support of Gore, if they thought the presidential race was extremely close in their state. Views were sought on how intelligent Gore and Bush were, as well as whether either was prepared for the demands of the presidency. Additional topics covered the fairness of the current income tax system, whether military and defense spending should increase, whether laws governing the sale of handguns should be stricter, whether a smaller government with fewer services is preferable to a larger government with more services, the importance of the outcome of the presidential election, whether the government in Washington, DC, could be trusted, how the budget surplus should be spent, whether it was preferable to have a president and Congress from different political parties, the most important problem facing the country, and whether respondents saw their vote as a vote for or against the presidency of Bill Clinton, or neither. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, education, religion, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, race, Hispanic descent, children in household, years in community, and household income.
Curated
CBS News Monthly Poll #2, December 2000 (ICPSR 3231)
Released/updated on: 2001-08-24
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-12-01--2000-12-31
This poll, conducted December 14-16, 2000, 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. The study was conducted to assess respondents' interest in and opinions about the 2000 presidential election. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, as well as their opinions of both candidates, Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush. Those polled were asked whether they participated in the last presidential election on November 7, 2000, whom they voted for, whether they were satisfied with the outcome of the election, and whether Bush legitimately won the election. A number of questions examined respondents' views about George W. Bush being president: what kind of president Bush would be, what worried them about Bush, whether Bush could be trusted to deal with all problems a president has to deal with, whether he cared about ordinary people, and whether he would be able to lead the country effectively, work with members of both parties, improve education, reduce costs of prescription drug coverage for seniors, reduce taxes, and strengthen and reform Social Security. The survey also queried respondents on the most important things they wanted Bush to accomplish, the way the Bush and Gore campaigns handled the election, how much trust they had in the United States Supreme Court, if they approved of its decision that stopped the manual recount in Florida, the effects of the presidential election controversy on American democracy, whether the vote count in Florida was fair and accurate, whom voters in Florida intended to vote for, and whether Gore withdrew from the race at the right time. The poll also elicited respondents' views on the economic situation in the country, the tax cut proposal, the budget surplus, federal funding to reward schools that improve students' performance, increase in defense spending, and a proposal that would allow individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security savings on their own. The survey also collected information on respondents' use of computers and the Internet. Those polled were asked whether they had access to a computer and to the Internet, and if so where, and if they had an e-mail address, whether they shopped on-line, whether they bought gifts during the 1999 and 2000 holiday seasons on the Internet, and if they were going to do so in the future. Internet shoppers also compared the on-line and store shopping experiences. 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.
Curated
Expected Federal Budget Surplus: How Much Confidence Should the Public and Policymakers Place in the Projections? (ICPSR 1240)
Released/updated on: 2001-06-12
Geographic coverage: United States
When the government runs a deficit, it can borrow from the public -- that is, it can create debt. Conversely, when the government runs a surplus, it can retire that debt. For the past three years, the federal government has recorded budget surpluses, and both the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office project that these surpluses will increase for at least the next decade. If these projections prove to be accurate, the $3.5 trillion of publicly held federal debt could be eliminated by around 2010. This article, which was written prior to the updated estimates published in January 2001, assesses the likelihood that these projected surpluses will materialize, and consequently eliminate the public debt, by comparing previous budget projections with actual outcomes. The authors show that the long-term budget projections have not provided a useful indicator of actual experience. Principally, these errors occur because of changes in macroeconomic conditions or unforeseen legislative actions, which both result in unanticipated increases or decreases in revenues or outlays. Not surprisingly, the projections have proven to be less reliable the longer the projection horizon. Moreover, over the period of available data, the projections have been biased upward, i.e., the actual deficits have been larger than projected. Accordingly, the authors suggest that prospects for eliminating the public debt may be overstated.
Curated
ABC News Poll, July 2000 (ICPSR 3058)
Released/updated on: 2001-04-17
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2000-07-20--2000-07-23
This poll, fielded July 20-23, 2000, 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. Respondents were asked whether they intended to vote in the November 7, 2000, presidential election and for whom they would vote if the election were held that day, given a choice between Vice President Al Gore (Democratic Party), Texas governor George W. Bush (Republican Party), conservative commentator Pat Buchanan (Reform Party), and consumer advocate Ralph Nader (Green Party). Respondents were asked to assess the importance of the following issues in their electoral decision-making and to specify which candidate they most trusted to do a better job addressing them: holding taxes down, protecting the Social Security system, improving education, improving the health care system, handling the economy, handling gun control, handling foreign affairs, encouraging high moral standards and values, handling the death penalty issue, protecting people's privacy on the Internet, handling the federal budget surplus, managing the federal budget, handling crime, protecting the environment, addressing women's issues, and appointing justices to the Supreme Court. Views were sought on whether presidential debates should be held, which candidates should be invited to participate, and whether respondents were satisfied with the presidential candidates. In addition, respondents were asked which candidate understood the problems of the American people, was a strong leader, would bring needed change to Washington, had the knowledge of world affairs it takes to serve effectively as president, could keep the economy strong, would say or do anything to get elected, had new ideas, said what he really thought, was honest and trustworthy, had an appealing personality, and had the right kind of experience to be president. Those queried were asked whether a difference existed between Gore and Bush on the issues about which the respondent cared and their personal qualities. Opinions were elicited on whether the top priority for the federal budget surplus should be cutting federal taxes, reducing the national debt, strengthening Social Security, or increasing spending on domestic programs. Additional questions covered abortion and the impact of Bush's naming a running mate who supported legalized abortion, Bush's handling of the death penalty while governor of Texas, voter intentions regarding the 2000 Congressional elections, whether a smaller government with fewer services is preferred to a larger government with many services, whether the country should continue to move in the direction that Clinton established, and whether it mattered who was elected president. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, education, religion, labor union membership, Hispanic origin, household income, and neighborhood characteristics.
Curated
ABC News 'Nightline' State of the Union Address Poll, January 1999 (ICPSR 2714)
Released/updated on: 1999-06-16
Geographic coverage: United States
This special topic poll, fielded on January 19, 1999, sought respondents' views on the State of the Union Address delivered to the nation by President Bill Clinton earlier in the evening. Those queried were asked whether they watched the speech on television, whether they approved of Clinton's message, and whether they agreed with Clinton's decision not to mention the impeachment issue during the address. A series of questions focused on the ongoing Senate impeachment trial of Clinton. Topics covered whether witnesses should be called during the hearings, whether Clinton should be removed from office at the conclusion of the trial, and views on Clinton's lawyer's opening statement. Respondents were also asked whom they trusted to cope with the nation's problems and how the federal budget surplus should be spent. The results of the poll were announced on the ABC television program "Nightline". Background information on respondents includes sex and political party affiliation.
Curated
CBS News Monthly Poll #3 and Call-Back, January 1998 (ICPSR 2453)
Released/updated on: 1999-04-26
Geographic coverage: United States
This poll, fielded January 18-21, 1998, 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. Respondents were asked for their opinions on President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress. Those queried were also asked what issue they felt the government should concentrate on in 1998, and how the potential budget surplus should be spent. A series of questions focused on Cuba, including respondents' opinions of Cuba and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, whether diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba should be reestablished, whether the trade embargo should remain in place, and whether they would travel to Cuba if the current travel restrictions were lifted. Regarding the upcoming papal visit to Cuba, respondents were asked what they believed Pope John Paul II's visit meant for the political future of Cuba. A subset of respondents agreed to participate in a call-back poll, conducted immediately following the January 27, 1998, State of the Union address, delivered by President Clinton. These respondents were asked to give their opinions of Clinton, and to comment on whether he shared the moral values of the American people, whether claims that he engaged in an affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky would interfere with his ability to serve, and whether they watched the speech to hear Clinton's policy proposals or to hear his response to these allegations. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, education, religion, age of children in household, and family income.