CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, September 2004

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. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of the 2004 presidential campaign, including for whom they would likely vote -- George W. Bush, John Kerry, or Ralph Nader -- and their level of support for that candidate. Questions were also posed regarding candidates' handling of or ability to handle current issues, such as the campaign against terrorism, the economy, and the situation in Iraq. Additional survey questions queried respondents' perceptions of the state of the economy, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's role in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the Swift Boat Veterans group advertisements. Background information includes voter registration status, political party leanings, labor union affiliation, urbanicity, frequency of religious participation, sex, religion, social class, education, age, ethnicity, marital status, length of time lived at current address, political ideology, whether the respondent voted in the 2000 or 2002 elections, and income.