I'm amazed the approval rating is so high. Shall we get down on our hands and knees and look at the world from Congress' point of view?

In my opinion, this is the worst kind of foul attempt at journalism. Polls at an earlier time had some usefulness as legitimate tools when properly "validated" and supported with other poll questions to allow the responders to sense the context of the question. Today polls are used to manipulate public perceptions ,control public discourse, and ultimately evoke the public action desired by what seems to be partisan backers of the polls A single question such as this in the way it is stated has no legitimate function in statistical analysis. In a question such as this, that big fuzzy ball "Congress" is inferred to be a single homogenous entity that can be evaluated by one question. From an "information" value perspective it is ... More »

Based on national phone interviews (July 10-13, 2008) with approximately 1,000 adults, Gallup's Lydia Saad reports the congressional job approval rating has dipped to 14%, the lowest rating in the 34-year Gallup Poll history. The most recent decline "comes almost exclusively from Democrats," who now are significantly less likely (11%) than Republicans (19%) to approve of the job Congress is doing. Possible reasons offered for the record-setting low are also based on a Gallup poll (Oct. 2007), which indicates over 50% of American adults were "disappointed" or "angry" with Congress concerning the economy, healthcare, Iraq, immigration and the federal budget deficit. Given the worsening economy -- stagflation, inflation, and ... More »