CBS News Special Recruitment Poll, January 1992

In this poll, respondents were asked to give their approval ratings of George Bush with respect to his handling of the presidency, foreign policy, and the economy, to indicate the amount of attention they had paid to the 1992 presidential campaign, and to reveal their vote intentions for the 1992 presidential election. Those surveyed fielded questions concerning the likelihood of voting for Bush, the condition of the national economy, and whether they were currently better off than they were four years ago. In addition, respondents were asked to identify how money saved from defense spending should be used, to comment on the most important problem the United States government should spend tax dollars on, and to indicate their willingness to pay more in taxes so that the government could increase spending on items such as health care, education, and homelessness. Respondents were also recruited to participate in an experimental survey on January 28 to assess immediate viewer reaction to President Bush's State of the Union address during a CBS News special following the speech. Those recruited for this survey were asked to call back after the president's message and give their approval rating of Bush. They were also asked whether Bush's proposed tax cut would help end the recession, whether the speech influenced their confidence in Bush's ability to improve the economy, whether they were better off than four years ago, whether they were worried about losing their jobs, and whether they would be willing to pay more taxes if the federal government paid everybody's health care costs. Additional questions concerned Bush's understanding of the problems of the middle class, Clinton's explanation about his personal life, the media's exaggeration of poor economic conditions, where to place the blame for the United States' economic problems, paying more taxes to improve education, and the future for the next generation of Americans. Background information on respondents includes sex, age, race, education, family income, political orientation, party preference, voter registration status, most recent presidential vote choice, employment status, labor union membership, health insurance status, and socioeconomic self-placement.