CBS News Monthly Poll, February 2009

This special topic poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. In this poll, fielded February 2-4, 2009, respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the presidency, foreign policy, the economy, and the campaign against terrorism. Opinions were collected about whether the country was going in the right direction, whether the condition of the economy was good, how long the recession would last, and what could be done to get the United States out of the recession. Respondents were asked their opinions of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress, and Congress as a whole. Several questions were asked about coal including questions that asked respondents whether they would approve of building plants that were powered by coal to generate electricity, whether it was a good idea to use coal to generate electricity, whether they thought doing so would contribute to global warming, whether they knew of any companies using technology to generate electricity from coal in a way that does not contribute to global warming, respondent's definition of "clean coal," and whether advertisements about "clean coal" technology had changed their opinion of whether it was possible to use coal to generate electricity in a way that was less likely to contribute to global warming. Other questions asked about the economic stimulus plan, how closely respondents had been following news about it, whether they approved of the federal government passing an economic stimulus bill, whether the bill would shorten the recession, and whether it was okay for the Democrats to pass the bill without the support of the Republicans in Congress. Additional topics addressed closing the United States prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, abortion, job security, global warming, the concept of "nature versus nurture," and where people obtain their sense of morality. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, religious preference, religious service attendance, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.

本专题民意调查为月度追踪调查系列的组成部分，该系列调查旨在征集公众对总统履职表现及一系列其他政治与社会议题的看法。本次调查于2009年2月2日至4日执行，受访者需就巴拉克·奥巴马的总统履职、外交政策、经济治理及反恐行动的表现表态支持与否。调查同时收集了公众对于国家发展方向是否正确、经济状况是否良好、经济衰退将持续多久，以及可采取何种措施帮助美国摆脱衰退的看法。受访者还需对美国众议院议长南希·佩洛西、国会民主党议员、国会共和党议员及国会整体的表现发表评价。另有多道涉及煤炭的调研问题，包括受访者是否支持建设燃煤发电站、是否认可使用煤炭发电的做法、是否认为该做法会加剧全球变暖、是否知晓有企业采用零排放技术以煤炭发电、受访者对"清洁煤"的定义，以及"清洁煤"技术广告是否改变了其对于煤炭可实现低排放发电的看法。其余调研问题围绕经济刺激计划展开，包括受访者对该计划的关注程度、是否支持联邦政府通过经济刺激法案、该法案是否会缩短衰退周期，以及民主党在未获得国会共和党支持的情况下通过该法案是否合理。本次调查还涉及关闭美国位于古巴关塔那摩湾的监狱、堕胎议题、就业保障、全球变暖、"先天与后天（nature versus nurture）"之争，以及公众道德观念的来源等话题。调研收集的人口统计变量包括性别、年龄、种族、教育水平、婚姻状况、家庭收入、党派归属、政治立场、选民登记状态与投票参与历史、宗教偏好、宗教仪式参与情况，以及受访者是否为重生基督徒（born-again Christian）。