POLITICAL FIGURE THERMOMETER INTRO 1968-1974: (1968,1972: As you know, there were many people mentioned this past year as possible candidates for President [1972: or Vice-President] by the political parties.) (1970: Several political leaders have already been mentioned as possible candidates for President in 1972.) (1968-1972: We would like to get your feelings toward some of these people.) (1974: Now I’d like to get your feelings toward some of our political leaders and other people who are in the news these days.) I have here a card on which there is something that looks like a thermometer. We call it a “feeling thermometer” because it measures your feelings toward these people. (1968: You probably remember that we used something like this in our earlier interview with you.) Here’s how it works. If you don’t feel particularly warm or cold toward a person, then you should place him in the middle of the thermometer, at the 50 degree mark. If you have a warm feeling toward him or feel favorably toward him, you would give him a score somewhere between 50 degrees and 100 degrees. (1968-1970 only: depending on how warm your feeling is toward that person). On the other hand, if you don’t feel very favorably toward a person–that is, if you don’t care for him too much–then you would place him somewhere between 0 degrees and 50 degrees. Of course, if you don’t know too much about a person, just tell me and we’ll go on to the next name. 1976: As you know, many people were mentioned this year as possible candidates for president or vice-president by the political parties. We would like to get your feelings toward some of these people. I’ll read the name of each person and I’d like you to rate that person with what we call a feeling thermometer. Ratings between 50 and 100 degrees mean that you feel favorably and warm toward the person, ratings between 0 and 50 degrees mean that you don’t feel favorably towards the person and that you don’t care too much for that person. If you don’t feel particularly warm or cold toward a person you would rate them at 50 degrees. If we come to a person you don’t know much about, just tell me and we’ll move on to the next one. 1978-LATER: I’d like to get your feelings toward some of our political leaders and other people who are in the news these days (1990: have been in the news). I’ll read the name of a person and I’d like you to rate that person using (1986-LATER: something we call) the feeling thermometer. Ratings between 50 and 100 (1986-LATER: degrees) mean that you feel favorably and warm toward the person; ratings between 0 and 50 degrees mean that you don’t feel favorably toward the person and that you don’t care too much for that person. (1986-LATER: You would rate the person at the 50 degree mark if you don’t feel particularly warm or cold toward the person.) If we come to a person whose name you don’t recognize, you don’t need to rate that person. Just tell me and we’ll move on to the next one. (1978-1984: If you do recognize the name, but you don’t feel particularly warm or cold toward the person, then you would rate the person at the 50 degree mark.) Republican Presidential candidate thermometer