Washington Post Poll, February 2002

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys
that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other
political and social issues. This poll was undertaken to assess
respondents' views on current events since the terrorist attacks on
September 11, 2001. Respondents were asked whether they felt things
were going in the right direction in the United States or if they have
gotten seriously off track, and whether President George W. Bush and
the Democratic leaders of Congress were making progress on solving the
nation's problems. They were questioned about whether they approved of
the manner in which Congress, as a whole, and their own
representative, in particular, were doing their respective
jobs. Respondents were then asked to describe the state of the
nation's economy and identify who or what deserved the credit/blame
for this: President Bush, Republicans in Congress, Democrats in
Congress, normal changes in the business cycle, the events of
September 11th or former president Bill Clinton. In addition,
respondents' political knowledge was tested based on whether they were
aware that Donald Rumsfeld was the current Secretary of Defense, and
that an education reform bill had been passed by congress and signed
into law this year by President Bush. Respondents were also questioned
on how closely they were attuned to the following events: the war in
Afghanistan, possible new terrorist attacks on the United States, the
collapse of the Texas-based energy company Enron, the 2002 winter
Olympics, upcoming congressional elections, and debates on campaign
finance reform and an economic stimulus package. Also, on the matter
of Enron, respondents were asked who they felt bore more
responsibility for the current situation, Democrats or
Republicans. Regarding September 11th, respondents were asked how this
affected their interest in political news, and what importance they
now placed on partisan politics. Respondents were also queried about
their stance on possible United States military action against Iraq to
remove Saddam Hussein from power. Background information on
respondents includes age, gender, political party, education,
religion, voter participation history, area of residence, labor union
membership, race, and household income.