June 21, 2007

Worst Congress Ever

That would be the verdict of the American People.

Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress.

This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973. The previous low point for Congress was 18% at several points in the period of time 1991 to 1994.

Congress is now nestled at the bottom of the list of Gallup's annual Confidence in Institutions rankings, along with HMOs. Just 15% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in HMOs. (By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list. More on this at galluppoll.com on Thursday).

So let me ask -- if the American people don't trust the Congress but do trust the military, do you think that maybe the notion of "supporting the troops" might best be expressed by letting them win instead of bringing them home?

Posted by: Greg at 01:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 I'll preface this by noting that opinion polls can be some of the worst kinds of statistics.

56% Believe invading Iraq was a mistake
41% Don't think we can win
24% Think we can win, but won't win
30% Think will will probably or definitely win
While few support an immediate withdrawal, 56% support a timetable.

Trouble is, "winning" is not defined. More troubling is the fact that we're building around a dozen permanent bases in Iraq, which is about 65% as large as Texas.

Regardless of what "winning" is (and the definition is likely to be dynamic, there is little indication of any real plan to leave in the foreseeable future.

I think our leaders should be more honest with us about that.

Posted by: bob at Thu Jun 21 16:32:12 2007 (yDIf3)

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