CBS News Monthly Poll #2, October 2008

This special topic poll is 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. In this poll, fielded October 28-30, 2008, respondents were asked whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency, whether the country was going in the right direction, whether the condition of the economy was good, and whether their family was financially better off compared to four years ago. Those who were registered to vote were asked about how much attention they were paying to the 2008 presidential campaign, their opinions of the campaigns, their opinions of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates and their policies, their degree of support for the candidates, whether they had voted in a Democratic or Republican primary or caucus that year, the issue that was most important in deciding which candidate to vote for, the likelihood that they would vote in the general election and for whom, and whether they planned to vote in person on election day, by mail or absentee ballot, or at an early voting location. Respondents were also asked about whether they would vote for a Republican or Democratic candidate in the United States House of Representative election, which party had more members in the United States House of Representatives, whether they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, and whether they approved of the job their own district's representative was doing in Congress. Other topics addressed respondent's social class, job security, respondent's concerns and confidence level in having their vote counted properly for the presidential election, television commercials for Barak Obama and John McCain, whether a person's race affected their chances of getting ahead in today's society, and whether the United States was justified for taking military action against Iraq. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status and participation history, length of time at current residence, whether there were children under the age of 18 living with the respondent, military service, religious preference, religious service attendance, and whether respondents considered themselves to be a born-again Christian.