ABC News/Washington Post Poll, January 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. Respondents were asked to give their
opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the
presidency, the economy, education, environmental issues, the federal
budget, the campaign against terrorism, and Social Security, as well
as their views on Congress, the Republican party, the Democratic
party, First Lady Laura Bush, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Those queried were asked which domestic and foreign policy issues
should receive the administration's attention, which political party
could be trusted to address these issues, and on what topics Bush
should focus in his upcoming State of the Union speech. Respondents
were asked to identify Bush's two most significant accomplishments and
to assess his job performance during his first year in office. They
were also asked whether Bush understood the problems of the average
American, and whether big business, environmental groups, the oil/gas
industry, and/or the American people had the appropriate amount of
influence in the Bush administration. Opinions were elicited on the
state of the nation's economy, how long the current economic recession
would last, whether military spending or spending on social programs
should be reduced to balance the federal budget, and whether the Bush
administration was responsible for the budget deficit. Respondent
views were sought on the 2001 collapse of the energy trading giant
Enron Corporation. Topics covered whether the Enron situation was an
isolated incident, whether new laws regulating corporate accounting
practices or the enforcement of existing laws were necessary, the Bush
administration's dealings with Enron, whether recipients of campaign
contributions from Enron should disclose communications with Enron
officials, and whether a full-scale federal investigation should be
conducted. A series of questions addressed the ongoing war on
terrorism. Topics covered respondent confidence in the ability of the
United States government to prevent further terrorist attacks against
Americans and to capture/kill Osama Bin Laden, whether his capture was
necessary for the war to be considered a success, possible military
action against Iraq to force Saddam Hussein from power, and whether
non-citizens charged with terrorism should be put on trial in the
United States court system or in a military tribunal. A series of
questions focused on the benefits given to families of the victims of
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Items focused on whether
payments should be reduced for families that had other sources of
financial benefits, whether victims of previous terrorist attacks
should be paid similar benefits, and whether payments should be made
to the families and victims of all future terrorist
attacks. Respondents expressed their degree of confidence in the
federal government's ability to actually solve a problem. Those
queried gave their opinions on the amount of waste in military and
domestic program spending by the United States government, whether
they would rather work in the public or private sector, and whether a
smaller government with fewer services or a larger government with
many services was preferred. A series of questions focused on Saudi
Arabia. Topics covered whether Saudi Arabia was an ally or enemy of
the United States, the importance of maintaining good relations with
them, and whether the United States was dependent on the oil it buys
from Saudi Arabia. In addition, respondents were asked to give their
views on whether the federal government should allow oil drilling in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Background information
on respondents includes age, gender, political party, political
orientation, voter registration and participation history, education,
race, Hispanic descent, marital status, children in household,
religion, labor union membership, urban/suburban/rural area of
residence, whether close family/friends lost a job in the previous six
months, and household income.