Congressional Approval Ratings

Sky Dive Rick said...
So why is the Democratic Congress' numbers lower than Bush's?

And a story in Reuters, which basically says the same thing I had.

The new Democratic-led Congress is drawing the ire of voters upset with its failure to quickly deliver on a promise to end the Iraq war.

This is reflected in polls that show Congress -- plagued by partisan bickering mostly about the war -- at one of its lowest approval ratings in a decade. Surveys find only about one in four Americans approves of it.

"I understand their disappointment," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "We raised the bar too high."

In winning control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans last November, Democrats told voters they would move swiftly to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

But they now say voters must understand they need help from Republicans to clear procedural hurdles, override presidential vetoes and force Bush to change course.

Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said he explained this recently to anti-war demonstrators. "'We know. We know,'" he quoted them as replying. "But we are so disappointed.'"

Biden, seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, said: "Voters are going to be mad with us until we end the war."

Approval ratings in Congress are going to be tied to the Iraq war for the foreseeable future. George Bush is far too stubborn to admit that it's been a colossal failure. He will not withdraw troops before his term ends for any reason. He must protect his future excuse, "If the Democrats hadn't withdrawn the troops, we'd have won that war!!".

Therefore, it kind of goes without saying that Congress' approval rating will be low for quite a while. The American people have made their demands. Bush ignores them, and the Democrats are afraid of the way they will be painted by the media if they attempt to force a withdrawal.

Meanwhile.. thousands and thousands of people will die.