CBS News/New York Times Monthly Poll, November 1990

This data collection is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that evaluate the Bush presidency and solicit opinions on a variety of political and social issues. Demographic information collected includes sex, age, race, education, family income, religion, ethnicity, political orientation, party preference, and voting behavior. Issues addressed in this survey include Bush's handling of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, whether the United States did the right thing by sending troops to Saudi Arabia and whether Bush had explained the situation in the Middle East well enough so that people understood why troops were sent, whether Bush was correct to send additional troops to the Persian Gulf, whether respondents anticipated the United States military fighting Iraq or a peaceful resolution to the situation, whether the Bush Administration tried hard enough to reach a diplomatic solution or was too quick to involve American military forces, whether the United States should commence military action against Iraq soon or wait, and whether the United States' main purpose in sending troops was to fulfill its duty to protect its friends or to prevent the price of oil from increasing too much if the Iraqis controlled oil fields in the Middle East. Respondents were asked if the following were good enough reasons for taking military action against Iraq: to restore the government of Kuwait and defend Saudi Arabia against aggression, to stop Saddam Hussein from developing nuclear weapons, or to protect the source of much of the world's oil. Other questions probed for respondents' opinions on whether Congress should have to vote on a declaration of war or if the president should be allowed to send troops into combat when there is no time to wait for Congress to act, and whether who is elected makes any real difference. A series of questions dealing with family dinnertime habits and the relative importance of eating dinner together as a family was also asked, along with a series of questions dealing with home mortgages, Social Security deductions, and the number of times the respondent changed jobs and moved in the last five years.