CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll #2, March 1993

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. Questions assessed Bill Clinton's presidency with regard to his handling of foreign policy and the economy, and his ability to deal with a difficult international crisis. Those surveyed were asked to choose between reforming health care or reducing the federal budget deficit as the most important problem facing the country. Subsequent questions dealt primarily with the fairness and potential benefit of Clinton's economic plan, reducing the federal budget deficit by increasing taxes, and health care reform. Other topics included United States aid to Russia and support for Boris Yeltsin, military base closures in the United States, an energy tax to reduce the deficit, protecting the environment at the expense of losing jobs, abortion, Ross Perot, a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases, banning the sale of handguns, the National Rifle Assocation, race relations in the United States, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Background information on respondents includes household composition, gun ownership, vote choice in the 1992 presidential election, voter registration status, political party, political orientation, religious preference, education, age, and sex.