DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09887
title: ABC News/Washington Post Poll, January 1992
title: Archival Version

description: This poll 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. Respondents were asked to identify the
most important problem facing the country, to indicate whether they
approved or disapproved of Bush's handling of the presidency in general
and of his handling of foreign affairs and the economy in particular,
and to offer opinions on whether Bush was able to deal with the big
issues that faced the country. Those surveyed were also asked if they
approved of the way their own United States Representative was handling
his or her job, and whether they approved of the way Congress was doing
its job. Concerning economic matters, respondents were asked how the
money from potential cuts in military spending should be used, whether
they were better off financially than in 1989 when Bush became
president, and whether Bush or the Democrats in Congress could be
trusted to do a better job on the economy. Concerning political
parties, respondents were asked whether the Democrats or Republicans
better represented the interests of various groups of people, and
whether the Democrats or Republicans could do a better job of coping
with the main problems the nation would face in the coming years.
Focusing on health care, respondents were asked whether they trusted
Bush or the Democrats in Congress to do a better job of improving the
health care system in this country, whether they could vote for a
candidate whose position on health care was different from theirs, and
if a candidate's position on health care was the most important issue
to consider in deciding whether to support that candidate. With respect
to Bush's 1992 State of the Union address, those surveyed were asked if
they approved of most of the proposals made in the speech, how much
Bush's economic proposals would help the economy and the respondent's
own financial situation, and whether Bush would be able to accomplish
most of the goals he outlined in his speech. Concerning the Persian
Gulf War, the survey asked respondents whether the war had been worth
fighting considering its cost to the United States versus its benefit,
and whether the respondent was more likely to support Bush for a second
term as a result of the Gulf War. Regarding the issue of extramarital
affairs involving a presidential candidate, respondents were asked if
they could vote for a candidate who had had an affair, whether the
allegation that Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton had had
an affair would have an effect on their vote, and if that should be an
issue in the presidential election. Respondents were also asked whether
Clinton should withdraw from the race if it turned out that he did have
an affair with Gennifer Flowers, whether his withdrawal should be based
on having had an affair or having denied it, and whether Clinton or
Flowers had told the truth. Concerning the 1992 presidential election,
respondents were asked for whom they would vote if their state held a
Democratic or Republican primary/caucus for president, toward whom they
were leaning at the time of the interview, whether they would vote for
Bush or various other prospective candidates/nominees if the national
election were held at the time of the interview, and toward whom they
were leaning at the time of the interview. Those surveyed were also
asked their views concerning presidential primaries and caucuses, and
about their expectations for the 1992 presidential campaign. Additional
campaign questions asked respondents if who is elected in 1992 really
made any difference, and whether they thought that they were being
referred to when Republican and Democratic candidates for political
office talked about the middle class. Other questions dealt with the
respondent's impression of various candidates involved in the 1992
presidential election, the reelection of the respondent's
representative in Congress, and the chances of the respondent's voting
in the 1992 presidential election. Background information on
respondents includes political alignment, voter registration status,
most recent presidential vote choice, education, age, race, income,
economic class, religion, marital status, household composition, labor
union membership, urban/suburban/rural residence, and sex.
description: Households were selected by random digit dialing. Within 
 households, the respondent selected was the adult living in the 
 household who last had a birthday and who was at home at the time of 
the interview.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: ABC News/Washington Post Poll, January 1992
description: Adults aged 18 and over living in households with
telephones in the 48 contiguous United States.
description: A weight variable with two implied decimal places has
been included and must be used with any analysis.