The Newsweek/Daily
Beast Poll was conducted with a representative sample of the national
population with 918 likely voters. The fieldwork took place between Saturday,
February 12 and Tuesday, February 15, 2011. The margin of sampling error for
this poll is +/-3.5 percent.
1)
How
likely are you to vote in the next general election?
Absolutely certain 62%
Very likely 38%
Possibly {END}
Not very likely {END}
Not at all likely {END}
2)
With which political
party are you currently registered?
Republican 34%
Democrat 36%
Independent
29%
Not
sure 1%
3)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Barack Obama is performing his job as President?
TOTAL APPROVE
50%
TOTAL DISAPPROVE 44%
Strongly approve 24%
Somewhat approve 27%
Somewhat disapprove 12%
Strongly disapprove 32%
Not sure
6%
4)
Overall, do you
approve or disapprove of Congress?
TOTAL
APPROVE
30%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 58%
Strongly
approve 9%
Somewhat
approve 21%
Somewhat
disapprove
29%
Strongly
disapprove
29%
Not
sure
12%
5)
Do you think Obama
has a real plan to balance the budget, or does he not have a real plan?
Obama
has a real plan to balance the budget
38%
He
does not have a real plan
47%
Not
sure
16%
6)
Do you think Obama
has a real plan to cut spending, or does he not have a real plan?
Obama
has a real plan to cut spending 41%
He
does not have a real plan
49%
Not
sure
10%
7)
Do you think that
Obama has a real plan to cut the deficit, or does he not have a real plan?
Obama
has a real plan to cut the deficit
42%
He
does not have a real plan
46%
Not
sure
12%
8)
Do you favor or
oppose the health care bill that was passed last year?
TOTAL
FAVOR
37%
TOTAL
OPPOSE
56%
Strongly
favor 21%
Somewhat
favor 16%
Somewhat
oppose 12%
Strongly
oppose 44%
Not
sure
8%
9)
Two judges have found
all or part of the health care bill unconstitutional, while two judges have
upheld the constitutionality of the law.
Do you think that Congress should work to implement the law, or do you
think Congress should repeal the law?
Congress
should work to implement the law 41%
Congress
should repeal the law 44%
Not
sure
15%
10)
In your opinion, have
the Republicans made positive proposals to change America, or have they just
criticized Obama?
The
Republicans have made positive proposals to change America
37%
They
have they just criticized Obama 49%
Not
sure
15%
11)
Okay, and in your opinion,
has Obama made positive proposals to change America, or is he just criticizing
the Republicans?
Obama
has made positive proposals to change America 58%
He is
just criticizing the Republicans
25%
Not
sure
18%
12)
Do you favor or
oppose a national summit designed to initiate a bipartisan process to balance
the budget, reform entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security,
and fundamentally reform the tax system?
TOTAL
FAVOR 68%
TOTAL
OPPOSE
19%
Strongly
favor 30%
Somewhat
favor 38%
Somewhat
oppose 11%
Strongly
oppose 8%
Not
sure
13%
13)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Republicans are doing their job running the House of
Representatives?
TOTAL
APPROVE
42%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 44%
Strongly
approve 16%
Somewhat
approve 26%
Somewhat
disapprove
19%
Strongly
disapprove
24%
Not
sure
15%
14)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Democrats are doing their job running the Senate?
TOTAL
APPROVE
39%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 54%
Strongly
approve 14%
Somewhat
approve 25%
Somewhat
disapprove
25%
Strongly
disapprove
29%
Not
sure
7%
15)
John Boehner is
performing his job as Speaker of the House?
TOTAL
APPROVE
40%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 23%
Strongly
approve 11%
Somewhat
approve 29%
Somewhat
disapprove
7%
Strongly
disapprove
16%
Not
sure
37%
16)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Mitch McConnell is performing his job as Senate Minority
Leader?
TOTAL
APPROVE
26%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 28%
Strongly
approve 5%
Somewhat
approve 21%
Somewhat
disapprove
12%
Strongly
disapprove
16%
Not
sure
46%
17)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Nancy Pelosi is performing her job as House Minority
Leader?
TOTAL
APPROVE
33%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 53%
Strongly
approve 14%
Somewhat
approve 19%
Somewhat
disapprove
15%
Strongly
disapprove
37%
Not
sure
14%
18)
Do you approve or
disapprove of the way Harry Reid is performing his job as Senate Majority
Leader?
TOTAL
APPROVE
27%
TOTAL
DISAPPROVE 44%
Strongly
approve 4%
Somewhat
approve 23%
Somewhat
disapprove
17%
Strongly
disapprove
27%
Not
sure
29%
19)
Which do you prefer
– our government that is currently divided, with the Republicans in
charge of the House and the Democrats in charge of the Senate and the White
House, or government when the Democrats had control of both Congress and the
White House?
Divided
government, with the Republicans in charge of the House and the Democrats in 54%
charge
of the Senate and the White House
Government
when the Democrats had control of both Congress and the White House
23%
Not
sure
23%
20)
Who would you like to
see control Congress after the 2012 elections – the Democrats or the
Republicans?
The
Democrats
31%
The
Republicans 38%
Divided
government 13%
Not
sure
18%
21)
[Ask of Republican
and Independent voters] In thinking about the 2012 Republican primary for
President, supposed you had a choice between Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Hailey
Barbour, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Mitch Daniels Newt Gingrich and Jon
Huntsman. If the election were
held today, who would you vote for?
Sarah
Palin
10%
Tim
Pawlenty
5%
Hailey
Barbour
1%
Mike
Huckabee
18%
Mitt
Romney
19%
Mitch
Daniels
1%
Jon
Huntsman
1%
Donald
Trump
8%
Newt
Gingrich
7%
Not
sure
31%
22)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat Barack
Obama and Republican Sarah Palin.
If the election were held today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
51%
Sarah
Palin
40%
Not
sure
9%
23)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat Barack
Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.
If the election were held today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
49%
Mitt
Romney
47%
Not
sure
5%
24)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat Barack
Obama and Republican Donald Trump.
If the election were held today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
43%
Donald
Trump
41%
Not
sure
16%
25)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat Barack
Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee.
If the election were held today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
46%
Mike
Huckabee
46%
Not
sure
8%
26)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat In
thinking about the 2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, and Independent Donald
Trump. If the election were held
today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
44%
Mitt
Romney
38%
Donald
Trump
8%
Not
sure
10%
27)
In thinking about the
2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between Democrat In
thinking about the 2012 Presidential election, suppose you had a choice between
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Sarah Palin, and Independent Donald
Trump. If the election were held
today, who would you vote for?
Barack
Obama
48%
Sarah
Palin
21%
Donald
Trump
20%
Not
sure
12%
28)
How satisfied are you
with the way the Obama administration has handled the crisis in Egypt?
TOTAL
SATISFIED 66%
TOTAL
NOT SATISFIED 34%
Very
satisfied 18%
Somewhat
satisfied 48%
Not
very satisfied 16%
Not at
all satisfied
18%
29)
Do you think that the
result of the crisis in Egypt will be a stable transition to democracy, or will
it not be a stable transition to democracy?
The
result of the crisis in Egypt will be a stable transition to democracy
23%
The
result will not be a stable transition to democracy
55%
Not
sure
22%
30)
Do you think that an
Islamic fundamentalist government like IranÕs government will emerge as EgyptÕs
next government, or do you think Egypt will have a secular, Western-style
democratic government?
An
Islamic fundamentalist government like Iran's government will emerge 26%
as
Egypt's next government
Egypt
will have a secular, Western- style democratic government
38%
Not
sure
36%
Demographics
31) Age
18-29
11%
30-39
15%
40-49
21%
50-64
33%
65 and
older
21%
32) Gender
Male 46%
Female 54%
33) Race/Ethnicity
White
or Caucasian 77%
Black
or African-American
11%
Hispanic
10%
Asian
*
Some
other racial or ethnic heritage 1%
DK/Refused
1%
34)
Religion
Protestant (includes Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, 48%
Presbyterian, and other Christians)
Evangelical
3%
Catholic
26%
Jewish
2%
Muslim
*
Atheist
or Agnostic 4%
Other
6%
None
9%
Not
sure 1%
35) Do you consider yourself liberal,
moderate or conservative?
Liberal
17%
Moderate
39%
Conservative
39%
DK/Refused
5%
36) Do you belong to a union?
Yes 14%
No 86%
37) [If yes] Is it a public or private
union?
Public
60%
Private
33%
DK/Refused
7%
38) Who did you vote for in the 2008 election
for President?
Barack
Obama
44%
John
McCain
39%
Some
other candidate 7%
Did
not vote
10%
39) Who did you vote for in the 2010
Congressional election?
A Democrat 36%
A Republican 42%
Other 10%
Did not vote 12%
40) Are you currently employed?
Yes 59%
No 41%
41) Are you married?
Yes 65%
No 35%
42) Who is the primary income earner?
The husband 54%
The wife 13%
Both equally 31%
Neither 2%
43) Who does more household work?
The husband 9%
The wife 56%
Both equally 33%
Neither 2%
44) What do you think is the ideal balance
for a couple in terms of salary and domestic responsibility?
The husband should be the
primary income earner and the wife should 18%
primarily take care of domestic
responsibilities
The wife should be the
primary income earner and the husband should *
primarily take care of
domestic responsibilities
The husband and wife
should be equal income earners and share the 71%
domestic responsibilities
equally
Not sure 11%
45) Do you have children living at home?
Yes 38%
No 62%
46) [if yes] Who spends more time taking
care of your children?
The husband 5%
The wife 39%
Both equally 43%
Neither 14%
47) Region
New
England
6%
Middle
Atlantic 15%
East
North Central 16%
West
North Central 7%
South
Atlantic 19%
East
South Central 7%
West
South Central 9%
Mountain 6%
Pacific
15%
48) Income
You and your family earnÉ less than
$20,000 annually 12%
$20,000 to $40,000 18%
$40,000 to $60,000 14%
$60,000 to $75,000 11%
$75,000 to $100,000 14%
More than $100,000 21%
Not sure 10%