CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, September 2000

This poll, fielded September 9-11, 2000, is part of acontinuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion onthe presidency and on a range of other political and socialissues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of PresidentBill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Connecticut senator JosephLieberman, Texas governor George W. Bush, and former Secretary ofDefense Dick Cheney. Those queried were asked whether they intended tovote in the November 7, 2000, presidential election and for whom theywould vote if the election were held that day, given a choice betweenGore (Democratic Party), Bush (Republican Party), conservativecommentator Pat Buchanan (Reform Party), and consumer advocate RalphNader (Green Party). A series of questions addressed the presidentialcampaigns of Gore and Bush, including which candidate could be trustedto keep his word, possessed strong leadership qualities, had theability to deal with an international crisis, cared about the needs ofpeople like the respondent, shared the values of the American people,would keep his campaign promises, had spent more time explaining hisproposals than attacking his opposition, and had made clear what heintended to accomplish as president. Respondent views on thecandidates' proposed policies were elicited, including which candidatewas more likely to maintain a strong economy, reduce the cost ofprescription drugs for the elderly, protect the environment, improveeducation, reduce taxes, make health care affordable to everyone, worktoward building a missile defense system, and choose Supreme Courtjustices who would vote to keep abortion legal. Other questionsfocused on whether the expected federal budget surplus should be spentcutting taxes, paying down the national debt, or preserving programslike Medicare and Social Security. A series of questions addressedUnited States military strength and the proposed missile defensesystem, with items on knowledge of the missile defense system program,whether such a land- and sea-based missile defense system would work,and whether the government should continue to develop such asystem. Additional topics covered whether presidential candidatesshould participate in debates organized by the Commission onPresidential Debates, respondent views on abortion, the tone ofcampaign advertising, whether it was appropriate for presidentialcandidates to publicly discuss their religious beliefs, whether anycandidate had used religion improperly during the campaign, and howrespondents intended to vote in the 2000 Congressionalelections. Background information on respondents includes age, gender,political party, political orientation, voter registration andparticipation history, labor union membership, marital status,religion, race, Hispanic origin, age of children in household,computer access, household income, number of years living incommunity, and whether the respondent was financially better or worseoff than eight years ago.