ABC News/Washington Post Contract with America Poll, January 1995

For this poll, fielded on January 3-4, 1995, respondents were asked to rate President Clinton's handling of the country in general, the economy, and foreign affairs. It was also intended to gauge the public's knowledge of the "Contract with America," a nationwide Republican initiative to gain a majority in Congress in which they laid out a specific action plan in the Senatorial and Representative campaigns of Republicans throughout the United States. Other approval rating questions sought opinions on Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. Respondents were queried on whether they trusted President Clinton or the Republicans in Congress to provide strong leadership and handle issues such as Social Security and reduce the federal budget deficit. Those surveyed were asked if the switch from Democratic control of the Congress to Republican control was a good thing, and if the respondents had any idea how Clinton or the Republicans planned to lead the nation in the next two years. Questions included who the respondents would vote for if the 1996 election were to occur that day. Items regarding the budget included whether respondents would support an amendment to the Constitution requiring the federal budget to be balanced and under what circumstances they would support such an amendment, such as cutting spending on certain programs or raising taxes. Opinions were gathered on a range of social issues including prayer in schools, the death penalty, and welfare. Respondents were asked how often they watched daytime talk shows and whether they were more interested in the new session of Congress or the O.J. Simpson trial. Respondents were also asked to gauge if the economy or the standard of living was improving and to speculate how economically hard-off their parents were or their children would be. Demographic information includes party identification, voter registration status, voting record, political philosophy, level of education, birth date, ethnicity, total yearly income, and sex.

本次调查于1995年1月3日至4日进行，受访者在其中被要求对克林顿总统在整体国家治理、经济以及外交事务方面的表现进行评价。此外，调查旨在衡量公众对“美国契约”的了解程度，该契约是全国性的共和党倡议，旨在赢得国会多数席位，其中他们详细阐述了一项具体的行动计划，涉及美国共和党参议员和众议员竞选活动。其他批准率问题旨在征求公众对众议院议长纽特·金里奇和参议院多数党领袖鲍勃·多尔的意见。受访者还被问及是否信任克林顿总统或国会中的共和党人提供强有力的领导并处理诸如社会保障和减少联邦预算赤字等问题。受访者还被询问国会从民主党控制转变为共和党控制是否为好事，以及受访者是否了解克林顿或共和党人计划在接下来的两年中如何领导国家。问题包括如果1996年选举当天举行，受访者将投票给谁。关于预算的问题包括受访者是否支持一项修正案，要求联邦预算实现平衡，以及在何种情况下他们会支持此类修正案，例如削减某些项目的开支或提高税收。在一系列社会问题上收集意见，包括在学校祈祷、死刑和福利等方面。受访者还被问及他们观看日间谈话节目的频率，以及他们是否对国会的新一届会议或O.J.辛普森案件更感兴趣。受访者还被要求评估经济或生活水平是否在改善，以及他们的父母或孩子在经济上可能面临多么严峻的困难。人口统计信息包括政党认同、选民登记状况、投票记录、政治理念、教育水平、出生日期、种族、年收入总和以及性别。