CBS News National Callback Survey, January #2, 2011

This callback poll, fielded January 9-10, 2011, and originally fielded December 17-20, 2010, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, whether they expected 2011 to be a better year for them and their families than 2010, whether they thought the United States' influence in the world was increasing or decreasing, and whether they thought that China's growing economy was a major threat to the economic well-being of the United States. Respondents were asked for their opinions on Congress' interest in serving special interest groups, whether they thought that most Americans and Congress debate issues in a more civil manner than 10 years ago, whether members of Congress should be given bodyguards, and whether they thought that the United States has made a lot of progress in solving social problems such as poverty, disease, and lack of education in the past 50 years. Respondents were queried on gun control laws, whether they thought it is ever justifiable to take violent action against the government, the shooting in Tucson, Arizona of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords by Jared Loughner, to what effect stricter gun control laws would have prevented the violence in Tucson, whether harsh political campaigns had anything to do with the Tucson shooting, whether political views influenced Jared Loughner's shooting, and whether they or anyone in their household owns a firearm. Opinions were solicited on the war in Afghanistan, gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, gay marriage and civil unions, illegal immigration, abortion, and embryonic stem cell research and funding. Additional topics included respondents' experiences with bullies growing up, miscellaneous holiday information, weight loss, opinions on WikiLeaks, the Royal Wedding, product labels, whether they are paid what they are worth, and Attention-Deficit Disorder. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, employment status, religious preference, whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, and voter registration status.