CBS News "The Early Show" Poll, October 1999

This special topic poll, fielded October 28-30, 1999, solicited public opinion on the presidency, the 2000 presidential race, and other national political issues. The results of the poll were announced on the CBS television program "The Early Show". Respondents were asked to give their opinions of the Bill Clinton presidency, whether Clinton accomplished most of what he set out to do as president, whether the country was a better place as a result of his presidency, what the greatest successes and greatest failures of his administration were, and whether the respondent's vote in the 2000 presidential election should be viewed as a referendum on the president's policies. Opinions were also solicited regarding the most important problems that the federal government should address in the coming year, who could be trusted more to balance the federal budget, Congress or the President, and the role that the incoming First Lady should play in policy-making. A series of questions dealt with the upcoming presidential election. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of Vice President Al Gore, Texas governor George W. Bush, former New Jersey senator Bill Bradley, and Arizona senator John McCain, and to comment on whom they would prefer as the nominee of their respective political parties, and how they would vote in various hypothetical match-ups. Each candidate was assessed in terms of having the right kind of experience and leadership qualities to be president, the ability to understand the complicated problems confronting a national leader, the ability to deal wisely with an international crisis, honesty, integrity, and concern for the needs and problems of people like the respondent. Opinions were also solicited on conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, developer Donald Trump, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Respondents were also asked whether they preferred that political candidates spend their time listening to what the voters have to say or explaining their positions to the voters, whether the candidates for president should be judged on both their political records and their personal lives, and how much attention respondents had paid to the presidential election campaign so far. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party, political orientation, Hispanic descent, marital status, computer access, age of children in household, and family income.