Congress
Americans, both Republican and Democrat, continue to disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. Only 11% in this Economist/YouGov Poll approve – just about the same level of approval for Congress seen for most of this year.
And Americans don’t believe Congress is capable of carrying through on promises. In this poll, Americans overwhelmingly oppose earmarks, but just 8% believe that Congress can follow through on the promises some members have made to elimi- nate them.
But the bi-partisan agreement on the negative qualities of Congress extends to the lack of trust in elected officials to do the right thing: only 6% of Americans believe elected officials do the right thing more than occasionally. And when it comes to whom public officials work for – themselves or the public welfare – 58% believe elected officials mostly work for their own personal gain.
Democrats and Republicans agree that elected officials mostly work for themselves. However, most Americans (though not Republicans) do want members of Congress working in any lame duck session. By 52% to 33%, Americans believe that even if a member was defeated in this month’s elections, they should be allowed to vote on legislation until their term expires in January.
President Obama
In last week’s Economist/YouGov Poll, just 40% of Americans approved of the way President Obama was handling his job, matching his lowest approval rating ever. This week, 43% do. But 51% disapprove.
Many Americans are disappointed in the President. 42%, including 26% of Democrats and 46% of independents, say he has accomplished less than they expected when he took office. However, he is still the strong favorite against one possible Republi- can opponent in 2012. If Sarah Palin ran against him (and two-thirds of Americans think she will run), Barack Obama (as of now) would have a 13 point lead.
And there has been progress in how Americans rate the current President when it comes to handling terrorism. About as many Americans say his Administration’s policies have made the U.S. safer from terrorism (28%) as say they have made it less safe (27%). However, that’s an improvement from just over a year ago, when significantly more Americans (37%) thought his policies had made the country less safe.
