Gallup: Congressional Approval Lowest in History

A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll.

That 18% job approval rating matches the low recorded in March 1992, when a check-bouncing scandal was one of several scandals besetting Congress, leading many states to pass term limits measures for U.S. representatives (which the Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional). Congress had a similarly low 19% approval rating during the energy crisis in the summer of 1979.

Only Ralph Nader could be envious.

Harris Poll Shows Democrats' Worst Fears

The New York Post reports on a recent Harris Poll:

A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives...

Leading Democrats are expected to blame the President for the number being less than 100% and call for a massive federal entitlement program: Your Neighbors' Money Will Buy You Happiness.

Jealousy

From the AP:

"Karl Rove was an architect of a political strategy that has left the country more divided, the special interests more powerful, and the American people more shut out from their government than any time in memory," Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said.

Obama likely believes, but forgot to say, "My only wish is that he had worked for me."

William Jefferson's Food Bank

From the Macaca Post:

According to recently unsealed documents in U.S. District Court in Washington, FBI agents who raided [Democrat Rep. William] Jefferson's Capitol Hill home in August of 2005 found $20,000 in cash inside a Boca Burger box in the freezer.

Previous court documents stated only that $90,000 in hard cold cash was found in foil and frozen food containers. But a newly unsealed itemized inventory by FBI agents shows $20,000 of the total was tucked inside a Boca Burger box, $30,000 in a "Yes! Organic Market" bag and $20,000 in a not-so-organic Pillsbury pie crust box. (The other $20,000 - found in two stacks of $10,000, bound by rubber bands - was just wrapped in foil, you know, the normal way to keep cash in one's freezer.)

Congressional Approval Approaches Margin of Error

From Zogby International:

Survey shows just 3% of Americans approve of how Congress is handling the war in Iraq...

The online survey was conducted July 13–16, 2007, and included 7,590 respondents. It carries a margin of error of +/– 1.1 percentage points.

Sheep

From the Politico:

A busted computer system hamstrung the House... for at least 45 minutes Friday on one of the tensest legislative days of the year.

The House electronic voting system malfunctioned at approximately 2 p.m.... Projectors that usually display how each member voted and show a tally of votes were not working, although votes were still being recorded on computers at various locations in the House chamber.

The mishap came during the final two days of legislative activity before a month-long recess, a time when tensions run high as lawmakers grind out last-minute agreements on a bevy of bills. Many lawmakers were already agitated from a rancorous episode last night when Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.) gaveled closed a vote before the tally was clear. McNulty apologized to his colleagues this morning.

The broken computers prompted protracted squabbles among lawmakers Friday afternoon. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) questioned how they could vote if they were unable to see the usual tally. Lawmakers are accustomed to seeing how their colleagues are voting while they mull their own decision.

And yet they expect the rest of America to vote without real time election results. How can we ever make up our minds?