Confidence in Congress at record low

[Ron Burgundy]

Politico - Only 12 percent of Americans now have confidence in Congress, the lowest percentage in the 35 years that the Gallup Poll has tracked the number.

Americans now view Congress less favorably any of the 14 other American institutions tracked by Gallup, including big business, newspapers and health maintenance organizations.

Even as President Bush's approval rating languishes at a record low, more than twice as many Americans have confidence in the presidency — 26 percent — than have confidence in Congress.

The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Congress since January 2007. It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party brand will find itself chained to the poor public view of the legislative branch. A recent analysis of ABC News-Washington Post polls found that in April the Democrats held a 24-point lead over President Bush as "the stronger leadership force in Washington." Today, it's a tie.

While Americans have long viewed their local representative more favorably than Congress as a whole, the public's current view of Congress is exceptionally poor. Today's 19 percent approval rating (a different measure than “confidence”) ties the record low of August 2007 and March 1992.

Friday's survey showed an across-the-board disapproval of Washington, with only 32 percent of Americans expressing confidence in the Supreme Court.

The sense of malaise extends beyond the capital — Americans show less confidence than in 2004 in all 15 of the American institutions tracked by Gallup. That includes schools, organized labor and the military (which about 7 in 10 Americans show confidence in; it receives the highest percentage of the 15 institutions). Only banks and the criminal justice system have seen as precipitous a decline as the three branches of the federal government.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080620/pl_politico/11232 [link]