CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, March 2001

This poll, conducted March 8-12, 2001, is part of a continuing series of surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions about President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, as well as their views on how Congress was handling its job. Those polled also gave their opinions of Vice President Dick Cheney, former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former Vice President Al Gore. Respondents expressed their views about whether Bush legitimately won the election, whether he would compromise with congressional Democrats and vice versa, and whether Bush cared about Black people. A number of questions examined respondents' views about the budget surplus, a United States missile defense system against nuclear attacks, the Democrats' tax cut proposals versus Bush's, and Clinton's pardons. The survey also queried respondents on the most important problems for the government, abortion, environmental protection, the death tax, layoffs, the national economy and the stock market, the Social Security system, school violence, and Cheney's health problems. Those polled were asked whether they participated in the last presidential election on November 7, 2000, and whom they voted for. They also gave their opinions about public schools, mandatory testing of students, tax-funded vouchers for children's education, federal funding for schools and religious organizations, the Democratic and Republican parties, the hearings over the sinking of the Japanese fishing boat by a United States submarine, and the influence of conservative Christian groups in the Bush administration. Additional questions concentrated on the use of computers and the Internet, including whether respondents had access to a computer and to the Internet, and if they had an e-mail address. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, education, religion, race/ethnic identity, voter registration, political party affiliation, political orientation, marital status, age of children in the household, and household income.