CBS News/New York Times Presidential Election Poll #1, October 1996 (ICPSR 4512)

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This poll, conducted October 10-13 and 16, 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 were asked about their opinions of President Bill Clinton and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. Respondents also were asked for whom they would vote if the 1996 presidential and United States House of Representatives election were being held that day, their interest in the 1996 presidential campaign, whether the campaign was more positive than previous campaigns, and their feelings about the candidates' television advertisements. Respondents were also asked to give their opinions of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, whether the presidential candidates spent more of their campaign time attacking each other or explaining their intended actions as president, and of the first presidential and vice-presidential debates, including which candidate won, and how the debate affected respondents' opinions of the candidates. Other questions asked whether federal spending on education should be increased, whether teachers' unions played a positive role, the quality of public schools in this country, and whether parents should receive tax-funded vouchers to help pay for their children to attend private or religious schools. Information was also collected on how often respondents watched comedians on late-night television and whether they had heard anything new about the presidential candidates on those shows. Additional topics in this poll addressed the O.J. Simpson trial, the condition of the national economy, job layoffs, and abortion. A subset of respondents were contacted on October 16, 1996, after the second presidential debate between candidates Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole. Respondents were asked whether they had viewed or listened to the debate, which candidate did the best job, whether the debate changed respondents' opinions of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, whether the debate changed respondents' minds about who they were going to vote for, and whether they learned anything new about the issues or the candidates from the debate. 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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