Twenty Percent of Americans Would Eliminate the Electoral College if They Could Change the Constitution; Nearly Half Would Make No Changes

Fifty-Seven Percent of Americans Think Cyber-Attacks Should Be Considered Acts of War

Given the opportunity to change the Constitution, 20 percent of Americans would get rid of the Electoral College, while almost half wouldn't change the document at all. Fifty-seven percent of Americans think cyber-attacks should be considered acts of war. And asked which sports star is most likely to assume the role-model status vacated by Tiger Woods, nearly half of Americans said sport stars should not be role models at all, while nearly a quarter chose Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Those are a few of the findings in the latest 60 MINUTES/Vanity Fair Poll, the full results of which will be published in Vanity Fair and posted on 60Minutes.com and VF.com.

The poll also asked Americans about revamping Uncle Sam's image and historical times and places they would most like to return to, among other topics.  Go to the 60 MINUTES/Vanity Fair poll.

Asked what change they would make to the Constitution, 45 percent of all respondents said they would make no change at all. Abolishing the Electoral College was the most popular change with 20 percent, followed by lessening the separation of church and state with 13 percent, limiting the right to bear arms with 11 percent, allowing foreign-born citizens to be president with 5 percent, and restricting the president's war powers with 3 percent. Broken down by political party, 21 percent of Republicans would lessen the separation of church and state, and 19 percent of Democrats would limit the right to bear arms.

Now that Tiger Woods is no longer our nation's top athletic role model, who should assume that status? Forty-five percent of respondents said sports stars should not be role models. Twenty-three percent of respondents said Manning should take the reins, followed by Yankee Derek Jeter with 6 percent, tennis stars Venus Williams with 5 percent, and Roger Federer with 3 percent, racecar driver Danica Patrick with 2 percent, and Olympic snowboarder Shaun White with 1 percent.

Mark Twain is the American writer who has made the greatest contribution to literature, according to 40 percent of respondents. Ernest Hemingway came in a distant second with 16 percent, followed by Emily Dickinson with 12 percent, Stephen King with 11 percent, and Toni Morrison with 4 percent. Dan Brown received 0 percent.

American companies and military installations, including the Pentagon, have been the targets of cyber-attacks-or electronic attacks on their computer systems. Asked if they think a cyber-attack by another country should be considered an act of war, a resounding 57 percent of respondents said yes, while 27 percent said no.

The results of the latest 60 MINUTES/Vanity Fair Poll are online now and also include questions on the most valued qualities in a potential employee, which awards shows are "must-see" events, and what we'll be saying in 50 years about the time we are living in now.

The 60 MINUTES/Vanity Fair Poll is a monthly measure of the American conversation on a range of topics rather than one specific subject. Geared to offer a wide-angle view of the country every 30 days, attitudes on culture, lifestyle, current events, and politics are explored to create a national survey. 60 MINUTES and Vanity Fair work together to formulate topics and question; the poll is conducted by the CBS News Election and Survey Unit, a high-profile source of American opinion since 1969.

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Press Contacts:         

Kevin Tedesco             212-975-2329                         kev@cbsnews.com

Beth Kseniak                212-286-7297                         beth_kseniak@condenast.com

This poll was conducted at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 1,216 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone January 6-10, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from random-digit dial samples of both standard-landline and cell phones.  The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points.  The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.