CBS News National Poll, June #1, 2011

This poll, fielded June 3-7, 2011, 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. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, foreign policy, the economy, the situation with Afghanistan, the threat of terrorism, and the federal budget deficit. Respondents were also asked whether they approved of Congress, about the condition of the economy, and whether things in the country were on the right track. Opinions were sought on the severity of the federal budget deficit, overall approval of the Republican and Democratic parties, whether Barack Obama and the Republicans in Congress have spent enough time on important issues, the handling of the federal budget deficit by the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, and the United States' presence in Libya and Afghanistan. Multiple questions addressed the 2012 Republican presidential candidates including respondents' overall opinions of several of the candidates. Further questions asked for respondents' opinions on the debt ceiling debate, including the potential effects of reducing the deficit on the number of jobs, making changes to Medicare, Social Security, and increasing taxes, the probability of a stock market downturn if the debt ceiling was not raised, whether spending cuts should be included in talks of raising the debt ceiling, and whether the debate in Washington about the debt ceiling is mostly about honest disagreements about economic policy or political gain. Additional topics include health care law, Medicare, the regional job and housing markets, the respondents' selection of the most important issues, voter participation, as well as knowledge of and relationship to an individual killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, household income, religious preference, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians, marital status, employment status, number of children, number of people in the household between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, political party affiliation, political philosophy, and voter registration status.