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.

本专题民意调查属于系列月度调查的一部分，该系列调查旨在征集公众对总统履职及一系列其他政治与社会议题的看法。本次调研实施于2009年2月2日至4日，受访对象被问及是否认可巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）处理总统履职、外交政策、经济事务以及反恐行动的方式。调研同时收集了公众关于美国是否走在正确发展方向、经济状况是否良好、经济衰退将持续多久，以及应采取何种措施帮助美国摆脱衰退的看法。受访对象还被问及对众议院议长南希·佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）、国会民主党议员、国会共和党议员以及整个国会的看法。调研设置了多个与煤炭相关的问题，包括受访对象是否支持建设燃煤发电厂、使用煤炭发电是否为合理方案、该行为是否会加剧全球变暖、是否知晓有企业采用不加剧全球变暖的技术以煤炭发电、受访对象对“清洁煤”的定义，以及“清洁煤”技术相关广告是否改变了其对“能否以较低全球变暖贡献度使用煤炭发电”这一问题的看法。另有若干问题围绕经济刺激计划展开，包括受访对象对该计划新闻的关注程度、是否认可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议员支持的情况下通过该法案是否合理。本次调研还涉及其他议题：关闭美国古巴关塔那摩湾监狱、堕胎问题、就业保障、全球变暖、“先天与后天（nature versus nurture）”之争的概念，以及公众道德感的来源。调研收集的人口统计学变量包括：性别、年龄、种族、受教育程度、婚姻状况、家庭收入、政党归属、政治立场、选民登记状态与参与记录、宗教偏好、宗教仪式参与情况，以及受访对象是否自认为重生基督徒。