Congress hits a new low

…in public opinion polls, among other things.

Eighty-three percent of respondents in a survey released on Wednesday say that Congress is doing only a fair or poor job – its worst mark ever in a Zogby poll. In the national survey of 1,012 likely voters taken July 12 through July 14, about 66 percent said Bush had done only a fair or poor job as president, with 34 percent ranking his performance as excellent or good. But the marks for Congress, mired in gridlock over a series of partisan political battles after Democrats took power in the 2006 elections, were even lower. While 83 percent said Congress was doing a fair or poor job, just 14 percent rated it excellent or good. Last October, in its final days, the Republican-led Congress earned ratings of excellent or good from 23 percent of voters.

We hear a lot – daily it seems – about president Bush’s very low approval ratings. Though it’s no surprise that Congress’ dismal performance has earned them one even lower, it’s certainly newsworthy enough for some headlines and analysis. Think we’ll see that in the ‘mainstream’?