CBS News Monthly Poll, January 1996 (ICPSR 4507)

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This poll, conducted January 16-17, 1996, 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 of this poll were asked to give their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, Hillary Rodham Clinton and her handling of the job as first lady, the magnitude of her influence on decisions Bill Clinton made as president, her influence on policy, and the type of treatment she received from the news media. Respondents also were asked to give their opinions of the job performances of the Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich and Majority Leader of the Senate, Bob Dole, and which candidate they would vote for if the presidential elections were being held that day. Information was collected concerning the budget standoff, including whether respondents trusted Bill Clinton or Congress more in making decisions about balancing the federal budget, which party should carry more blame, and whether there would be a negotiation in the near future. A series of questions solicited respondents' opinions about the Whitewater investigation, including whether Congress should have been holding hearings to investigate events surrounding Whitewater, whether Bill and Hillary Clinton had cooperated with the Whitewater investigators and been entirely truthful, whether Hillary Clinton should have testified, and whether the news media spent enough time covering the Whitewater investigation. Additional questions asked whether respondents listened to call-in radio shows and whether they considered themselves to be part of the religious right movement. A sample of respondents were contacted on January 23, 1996 after President Clinton's State of the Union speech to Congress and asked whether they viewed or listened to the speech, whether they approved of the president's proposals, and whether they blamed Bill Clinton or Congress more for the budget standoff. These respondents were also asked whether they thought the government in Washington could have a positive impact on people's lives, whether they were better off at the time of the survey compared to four years ago, and whether they thought President Clinton or Congress better understood the needs and problems. Demographic variables include sex, race, age, household income, education level, type of residential area (e.g. urban or rural), political party affiliation, voter participation history and registration status, and political philosophy.

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