Poll: Public view of Congress improves

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_on_go_ot/congress_ap_poll;_ylt=AsbgWiZjJPGdhOGd43Fm56iWwvIE

Poll: Public view of Congress improves

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 9, 9:21 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Three months after a power shifting election, a majority of Americans still disapprove of Congress — a sign of public impatience with the new Democratic majority even among party loyalists.



Still, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted this week shows that Congress' public image has improved slowly but steadily since the November elections when Iraq, corruption and partisan fighting drove congressional approval ratings below those of President Bush.

According to the poll, 65 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the way the president is handling his job, slightly up from his disapproval ratings last month. As for Congress, 58 percent disapproved of the work of lawmakers, a slight decrease from last month and a 14 percentage-point decrease from congressional disapproval last October.

Democrats ran on a message of changing the country's direction on the war and domestic policies, but Congress is still trying to find its voice on Iraq and legislation at the top of the Democratic agenda has yet to make its way through the Capitol and to the president's desk.