Waiting for something to happen?
A Reuters / Zogby poll of 991 likely voters found that a mere 25% of respondents rated George Bush’s performance as good or excellent, and 11% rated Congress’s performance good or excellent. These would appear to be dissatisfaction levels of 75-89% among these likely voters. The stories on the poll are full of explanations that may or may not have some merit:
“There is a real question among Americans now about how relevant this government is to them,” pollster John Zogby said. “They tell us they want action on health care, education, the war and immigration, but they don’t believe they are going to get it.” The dismal assessment of the Republican president and the Democratic-controlled Congress follows another month of inconclusive political battles…
These numbers are truly dismal, though we think it is not at all a bad thing if people generally do not approve of politicians. It certainly is an argument not to give them any more power or money than they already wield and enjoy.
But these numbers are curiously low. Maybe there is a sense that — above and beyond partisan politics — some really bad thing lies around the corner, and these incredibly low numbers are a sign of an animal’s instinct that senses a foreboding thing and waits, holding its breath. We’ll see.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I’ll quarrel with Mr Zogby.
It’s obvious that the politicians care only about the politicians and not at all for the will of the people. Look at pork, the authorized but unbuilt fence, and the endless petty squabbles over the war on terror. Look at the endless leaking from the CIA and the State Department.
This government screws up almost everything it does. Most of the Congress is corrupt. Can you imagine a William Jefferson at any private company? Or Murtha or Mollihan? Tell me they wouldn’t have been forced out over the appearance of impropriety.
I don’t want action from these clowns. I want them to leave me alone. Come back when they’ve read the Constitution and get to work on the things that are their business and leave the rest to the States.
October 19th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
These polls simply show the obvious. As one group we don’t approve. As smaller groups we disapprove for various often opposite reasons. The political class is more responsive to us than it seems. Half respond with what some want and half respond with what the others want. The result is little action, which is fine with me. The perfect example is the poll asking “Is America moving in the right direction?” This scores very negative because most think it is not. I want it to go more conservative and my neighbor wants it to go more liberal. We both think it’s going the wrong way. Polls on general questions like this are useless.