CBS News Monthly Poll #3, December 2003

This poll, conducted December 21-22, 2003, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on political and social issues. Views were gathered on the 2004 presidential campaign, as well as President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy. Respondents were asked whether they considered the war with Iraq to be part of the war on terrorism, whether the United States had completed its main mission in Iraq, whether taking military action was the right decision, how well the United States was doing in bringing stability and order to Iraq, and whether the United States won the war in Iraq. Opinions were solicited on whether removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power and the result of the war were worth the human and economic costs, whether most Iraqis were grateful for the removal of Saddam Hussein or resentful of the United States occupation in Iraq, whether the United States should focus on finding Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda members or dealing with Saddam Hussein and Iraq, and how big of a threat Iraq and Saddam Hussein were to the United States. A series of questions addressed the effect of Saddam Hussein's capture on the number of attacks on United States troops in Iraq and the threat of terrorism against the United States, and whether he should be tried by a United States military court, an Iraqi court, or an international court. Respondents were asked whether Iraq would become a stable democracy, whether this would make the United States safer or less safe from terrorism, the effect of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's surrender of weapons of mass destruction on the threat of terrorism against the United States, and whether the United States government had information before September 11, 2001, that could have prevented the terrorist attacks. Questions involving the 2004 presidential campaign polled respondents on how much attention they paid to it, whether they would vote for President Bush or a Democratic candidate for president, whom the Democratic party should nominate (Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman, Carol Moseley-Braun, or Al Sharpton), and whether this candidate should support or oppose the war in Iraq. Respondents were asked how certain they were about their choice of presidential candidate, the likelihood that they would vote in an upcoming primary or caucus, whether they felt that the country was going in the right or wrong direction, and which issue the candidates should discuss. Respondents were also queried on whether they accessed the Internet, whether they used the Internet to gather information on the upcoming 2004 presidential election, and whether they felt that the Internet changed the way political campaigns were conducted. Additional questions asked about the condition of the national economy, whether respondents planned to spend more or less money in the upcoming holiday season than they did in previous years, and if they had finished their holiday shopping. Background variables include sex, age, ethnicity, income, marital status, education, religion, number of telephone lines in home, political party affiliation, political orientation, whether the respondent voted in the 2000 presidential election, and if so, for whom (Democrat Al Gore, Republican George W. Bush, or Green Party candidate Ralph Nader).