CBS News State of the Union Poll and Call-Back Poll, January 1997 (ICPSR 4486)

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This special topic poll, fielded January 30-February 1 and February 4, 1997, solicited public opinion prior to and immediately following President Bill Clinton's February 4, 1997, State of the Union address. Respondents were polled prior to the speech and gave their opinions of President Clinton and his handling of the presidency, as well as of Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and the United States Congress, and identified the most important issues Congress should focus on in the upcoming year. Those polled were asked about the likelihood that they would watch the State of the Union address, the one issue they would like the president to talk about, the condition of the national economy, whether President Clinton or the Republicans in Congress had more influence over the direction of the country, and which one should have more influence over the next two years. Views were also elicited on whether government could have a positive impact on people's lives and whether government, businesses, or individuals should be most responsible for solving the nation's problems. Other questions addressed meetings with major campaign contributors at the White House, the effect of scandals on President Clinton's second term in office, campaign finance reform, welfare recipients, balancing the federal budget, and the future of the Social Security and Medicare systems. Additional topics focused on the personal and medicinal use of marijuana, marital satisfaction, dating, impulse buying, credit cards, race relations, and the O.J. Simpson criminal and civil trials. A call-back poll conducted immediately following the February 4, 1997, State of the Union address asked respondents whether they had watched or listened to it that evening, their opinions of the O.J. Simpson civil trial verdict released earlier that day, and whether presidents can improve race relations. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), voter registration status, political party affiliation, political philosophy, for whom respondents voted in the 1996 presidential election, whether they had a child who entered ninth grade in September 1996, and whether children and teenagers lived in the household.

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