CBS News Monthly Poll #1, August 2000

This poll, fielded August 4-6, 2000, is part of acontinuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion onthe presidency and on a range of other political and social issues.Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President BillClinton, former president George H.W. Bush, and the candidates for the2000 presidential election, Vice President Al Gore, Texas governorGeorge W. Bush, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, and consumeradvocate Ralph Nader. Respondents were asked to indicate whom theywere most likely to vote for, whether that decision was firm, and whothey thought would ultimately win the election. Opinions fromrespondents were also gathered regarding former Secretary of DefenseDick Cheney, Texas First Lady Laura Bush, and Tipper Gore, wife of AlGore. Other questions focused on whether Al Gore and George W. Bushcared about the needs and problems of people such as the respondent,whether Gore and Bush were capable of handling complicated problemsthat a president has to deal with, whether the two men were capable ofhandling an international crisis, whether they cared about theproblems and needs of Black people, whether they were trying to bringtogether different groups of Americans, and whether they had made itclear as to what they wanted to accomplish during their presidency.Respondents were also asked if Bush and Gore had spent more timeduring the campaign attacking each other or explaining what they woulddo as president, whether respondents' views on gun control wouldimpact the way they would vote, and if their views on gun controlagreed more with the views of Bush or Gore. Another series ofquestions dealt with respondent opinions of the Democratic andRepublican parties and their handling of social and political issues,including Social Security and education, whether the parties caredabout people such as the respondent, which party cared more aboutBlacks and other minorities, and whether the two parties welcomedpeople with differing viewpoints. A third series of questions queriedrespondents about the Republican National Convention. Respondentswere asked if they had watched any of the coverage of the convention,which one thing stood out the most in their minds, whether the viewsexpressed by the speakers at the convention represented the views ofthe Republican Party, and if they had watched or listened to any partof Bush's acceptance speech. Respondents were also asked if theirvote would be for a continuation of or a change to President Clinton'spolicies, whether that vote was a vote against or for Clinton'spresidency, or whether their vote had nothing to do with Clinton.Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race,education, religion, access to a computer, voter registration andparticipation history, political party, political orientation,Hispanic descent, marital status, age of children in household, andfamily income.