CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #1, March 2007

This poll, fielded March 7-11, 2007, is a part of a continuing series ofmonthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range ofother political and social issues.This poll oversampled people who called themselves Republicans, providing an insightinto the demographic characteristics and political perspectives of Republicans.All respondents were asked to say whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handlinghis job as president and other issues such as foreign policy, to rate the conditionof the national economy, to identify the most important problem facing the country,and to say whether they approved of the way United States Congress was handling its job.Several questions asked for respondents' opinions of the Democratic and Republicanparties, the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney, former President Bill Clinton,former Vice President Al Gore, and the 2008 presidential nominees.Respondents were asked how much attention they had been paying to the2008 presidential election campaign, which candidate they would vote for if theelection were being held that day, the ideal age of a president, and whether they thoughtHillary Clinton made a mistake when voting for the Senate resolution authorizing military action in Iraq.Respondents who identified themselves as Republicans and Democrats were asked whetherthey had any close friends who belonged to the other party, whether their political counterpartsshared the same goals and values, and whether they themselves had once belonged to the other party.These respondents were also asked about the qualities they looked for in their presidential nominee,which issues they felt most strongly about, and how often they visitedpolitical blog Web sites, listened to political call-in radio shows, and which cable news networkthey watched.Other questions asked about the situation in Iraq, including whether takingmilitary action was the right thing to do, whether the number of troops should beincreased, and whether Iran was a threat to the United States.Additional topics include respondents' opinions on the government, tax cuts,immigration, gay marriage, abortion, and Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record of 775 home runs.Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income,marital status, religious preference, frequency of religious attendance, type ofresidential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, politicalphilosophy, voter registration status and participation history, andthe presence of children under 18 and household members between the ages of 18 and 24.