Which way should Congress turn?

It gladdens the hearts of Republicans -- understandably so -- that even as President Bush's approval/disapproval ratings continue to flag, attitudes toward the Democratic-led Congress are even worse.

The new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll, which can be examined here, is the latest national survey to detail this phenomenon. The survey found that 35% of registered voters have a favorable view of Bush's job performance, 60% an unfavorable one.

For Congress, meanwhile, the numbers are truly in the tank: only 22% approve of its job performance, 69% do not.

Another poll question, however, underscores the dilemma for lawmakers who would like to see those results improve. When voters were asked whether Congress should get tougher in dealing with Bush or more cooperative, the results offer nothing but confusion -- 33% said the folks on Capitol Hill support his political agenda too much, 37% said too little, 19% said the current approach was about right and 10% weren't sure (1% simply refused to answer).

Talk about a split verdict!

Poll results released Wednesday focused on the Democratic and Republican presidential races; our analysis can be viewed here and here. The results released today concern opinions on the political debate over healthcare, and our story by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Janet Hook on that is available here.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Simonize]

Further evidence we need real change in this country. New voices, fresh faces. Obama for President! Wes Clark for Vice President!

[Don Anez]

Congress needs to get tough with administration and start exercising the will of the people and not their own selfish interests. Ignore the lobbyist that cater to the fear-mongering tactics of a corrupt regime and stop listening to the media hype surrounding an unjust war and focus on bringing our troops home. They need to appropriate money for health care and jobs and skills training for the poor and undernourished in this country and stop playing World Policeman.

Our actions are viewed as aggressive and self=serving by other nations Congress needs to help instill faith in this divided nation. We certainly won't get any help from the White House.

[Ronald C]

Enough already of the piecemeal approaches to healthcare coverage and financing. The only efficient and humane solution is a universal, single payer, national healthcare plan. Everyone is covered all the time. Period.