CBS News/Vanity Fair Monthly Poll, November 2009

This poll, fielded November 6-8, 2009, is a 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. Respondents were asked whether they spent more or less money and shopping time on extra nonessential items due to the recession, whether they could explain the "public option" in the healthcare debate, and who they thought was the most conservative voice of America. Respondents were also asked which president respondents would add to Mount Rushmore if they could, which event of 2009 surprised them most, and whether they thought it was sometimes justified for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to perform assassinations. Information was collected on how often respondents used the United States Postal Service, respondents' opinions about the domestic militias that are critical of the president and federal government, what country respondents would want to raise their children in, which lost artifact they would like to find, and what behavior they were most likely to display at their holiday party that year. Other questions addressed personal finances, job security, and respondents' opinions of gay marriage. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.