CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #3, January 2002 (ICPSR 3460)

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This poll 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 George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, the campaign against terror, foreign policy, the economy, and the general direction of the country, as well as their views of Vice President Dick Cheney, Congress, and Senate majority leader Tom Daschle. Respondents were asked for their opinions of the most important issue facing the country, the condition of the economy and whether it was changing, how much they trusted the government, what size government was ideal, whether Bush would compromise with Democrats in Congress to get things done, whether Democrats would compromise with Bush, whether either of them should compromise, and which one would more likely balance the budget. Respondents' opinions were probed regarding the Republican party, the Democratic party, and which was more likely to ensure prosperity, improve education, properly handle Social Security, ensure a strong military, ensure fair taxes, improve the health care system, protect the environment, balance the federal budget, deal with terrorism, and properly spend taxpayer money. Respondents were then asked about changes needed to the health care system, the importance of reducing prescription drug costs for the elderly, the importance of protecting the environment, how much Bush really controlled his administration, how respondents viewed his political philosophy and leadership qualities, their confidence in his abilities to make good decisions about the economy, how much he cared about people like them, which social class was favored by his administration, and how much big business influenced the Bush administration and Congress. Opinions were elicited about the state of the federal budget, how the recent tax cuts affected the economy, how fair the tax cuts were, whether the tax cuts were the best use of the surplus, whether tax cuts were worth the risk of a budget deficit, why a deficit was projected, whether a deficit was a good or bad thing, whether the war on terrorism was hurting domestic programs, whether tax cuts were hurting domestic programs, whether a candidate that advocated a balanced budget or tax cuts was preferred, and the bankruptcy of the energy trading Enron Corporation. Respondents were queried about who they thought had more seats in the House of Representatives, whether it mattered which political party controlled Congress, whether it was right to attack Afghanistan and countries hiding terrorists, how confident respondents were in the United States government's ability to capture terrorist Osama Bin Laden, the status of the war in Afghanistan, and the likelihood of another terrorist attack in the United States. Additional topics covered the state of respondents' personal finances, whether they would watch the January 29, 2002, State of the Union Address, and their voting intentions in the 2002 congressional elections. Background information on respondents includes gender, marital status, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, children in household, religion, education, age, race, Hispanic origin, 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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