CBS News National Poll, November #1, 2011

This poll, fielded November 2011, and the first of three, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on a range of political and social issues. Respondents were asked how well Barack Obama was handling the presidency, foreign policy, terrorism, and the economy. Further questions were asked about the state of the national economy, the implementation of a flat rate tax, whether Congress was performing their job well, whether respondents supported the Tea Party movement, and their opinions about Islam. Respondents were also asked how much attention they were paying to the 2012 campaign, whether they planned to vote in a 2012 primary or caucus, whether they watched or listened to the Republican debates, which candidate they preferred for the Republican nomination and how sure they were about this choice, and about their enthusiasm for the 2012 election. Opinions were sought about various Republican candidates, such as Mitt Romney, and particular attention was paid to the allegation of harassment against Herman Cain. Respondents were queried on what the United States policy should be towards changing dictatorships to democracies, use of military force, and the authorization of the killing of an American citizen in a foreign country if that person is a known terrorist. Additional topics include terrorism, interrogation tactics, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan, United States involvement in Libya, the weapon threat in North Korea, and the establishment of a Palestinian state, as well as respondents' opinions about Israel, China, Pakistan, and Iran. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, marital status, education level, household income, employment status, religious preference, whether respondents thought of themselves as born-again Christians, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, voting behavior, number of phones and household composition.