CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, December 2009

This poll, fielded December 4-8, 2009, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling his job as president, job creation, the economy, the situation in Afghanistan, and health care. Several questions addressed the economy and included questions that asked for respondents' opinions on the condition of the economy, the recession, who they thought was to blame for the current high employment rate in the United States, whether they thought Republicans or Democrats would create new jobs, and whether the government's stimulus package made the economy better or created new jobs. Respondents were asked about their personal financial situation, their rating of their household's financial situation, whether they thought their financial situation was getting better, what worried them the most about their finances, whether they had made cutbacks in their day-to-day spending, how their family had been affected by the recession, and whether they discussed the financial changes with their children. Information was collected on respondents' employment status. Unemployed respondents were asked how long they had been out of work and seeking employment, how long they expected it to take to find employment, whether they were laid off, whether they were offered a severance package with their last employer, what was most effective in finding leads for new jobs, and whether they had relocated, considered changing their career, or pursued job re-training programs to increase their chances of finding employment. Respondents were asked how confident they were that they would find a job with the same income and benefits as their last job, whether they were receiving unemployment benefits, and whether they took any money from their savings account, borrowed money from family or friends, increased the household's credit card debt, cut back on vacations or doctors visits, or received food stamps as result of being unemployed. Respondents were also asked whether the following things occurred as a result of them being unemployed: positive experiences, increase in volunteer work or religious service attendance, increased stress levels or exercise time, threatened with foreclosure, had more arguments with family, emotional or mental health issues, or had trouble sleeping. Other topics covered included global warming, health insurance plans, health care reform, job security, and the war in Afghanistan. Demographic information includes sex, age, race, education level, household income, military service, religious preference, reported social class, type of residential area (e.g., urban or rural), political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, and whether respondents thought of themselves as born again Christians.