ABC News/Washington Post Poll, December 2008

This poll, fielded December 11-14, 2008, 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. A national sample of 1,003 adults was surveyed. Respondents were asked whether they thought the country was headed in the right direction, whether they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling the presidency and the economy, and whether they approved of the federal government's overall response to the economic situation. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way Barack Obama was handling the upcoming presidential transition and what they thought was the most important issue they would like to see recently elected President Obama and the Congress deal with. Respondents were also asked several questions about the economy, the federal budget deficit, and the federal government's plan to stimulate the economy. Views were sought on the United States economic system, whether respondents thought the United States was in a long-term economic decline or whether they thought the economy was pretty solid. Respondents were also asked which party they trusted more to do a better job in coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years, and whether they thought the current financial situation was a crisis or not. Several questions asked respondents about the federal government's plan to bailout the Big Three United States automakers, whether they supported this plan, and whether they thought the automakers' problems were mainly the fault of the bad economy or the fault of their own mismanagement. Respondents were queried on how concerned they were about being able to maintain their current standard of living, how much they would spend on Christmas presents this year compared to last year, and how confident they were that they will be able to retire with enough income to last the rest of their life. Respondents were also asked several questions about their employment, whether they have been laid off or fired, whether they have had pay cuts or hours cut, and how likely they thought they would be laid off or fired in the next 12 months. Other questions focused on whether respondents thought the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan were worth fighting, whether significant progress was being made toward restoring civil order, and whether they thought the United States must win the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan for the war on terrorism to be a success. Finally, respondents were asked whether they voted in the presidential election and who they voted for. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, income, political ideology, political party affiliation, education level, and labor union membership.

本次民调于2008年12月11日至14日开展，属于一项持续进行的月度调查系列的组成部分，该系列旨在征集公众对总统履职情况及一系列其他政治与社会议题的意见。本次调查的全国性样本涵盖1003名成年民众。
受访者被问及是否认为国家正朝着正确的方向发展；是否认可乔治·W·布什（George W. Bush）处理总统履职事务与经济问题的方式；以及是否认可联邦政府针对当前经济形势的整体应对举措。
受访者还被问及是否认可巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）处理即将到来的总统权力交接的表现，以及他们认为新近当选的总统奥巴马与国会应当优先处理的最紧迫议题是什么。
另有若干问题围绕经济、联邦预算赤字以及联邦政府的经济刺激方案展开。调研收集了受访者对美国经济体系的看法，包括其是否认为美国正处于长期经济衰退之中，或是认为当前经济基础仍较为稳固。
受访者还被问及在未来数年应对国家面临的主要问题时，他们更信任哪个政党能表现更佳；以及是否认为当前的金融局势已构成危机。
另有若干问题询问受访者对联邦政府救助美国三大汽车制造商的方案的看法，包括是否支持该救助计划，以及他们认为汽车制造商的困境主要源于糟糕的整体经济环境，还是自身经营管理不善。
调研还询问了受访者对维持当前生活水平的担忧程度、今年圣诞节礼品预算相较于去年的变化情况，以及他们对自己退休后能否获得足够收入安度晚年的信心程度。
受访者还被问及多项与就业相关的问题：是否曾被裁员或解雇、是否遭遇降薪或工时削减，以及他们认为未来12个月内自己被裁员或解雇的可能性有多大。
其他议题则涉及受访者对伊拉克战争与阿富汗战争是否值得发动的看法、是否认为当前在恢复当地民事秩序方面已取得显著进展，以及是否认为美国必须打赢伊拉克与阿富汗战争才能确保反恐战争取得成功。
最后，受访者被问及是否参与了总统选举投票以及投票支持的候选人是谁。
本次调研的人口统计学变量包括性别、年龄、种族、收入、政治意识形态倾向、政党归属、受教育程度以及工会会员身份。