Though there's a good deal more trust in Congress than in Bush, the gap has narrowed a bit in the past month. Certainly there have been some mistakes and some losses in Democratic initiatives in Congress.
According to the Washington Post's latest poll:
With Bush's approval ratings mired by the unpopular war, Americans trust congressional Democrats over Bush to handle the situation in Iraq by a margin of 54 percent to 34 percent. That is down from a 27-point gap before the president's address last month. Since that time, trust in the Democrats on the issue has slipped six points. That has not been matched by increasing confidence in Bush, but by a five-point rise in the number who trust neither the Democrats in Congress nor the president on the issue. There has also been an eight-point decline in the Democrats' advantage among independents.
Although trimmed, the Democrats maintain a substantial edge on the war in large measure because of Bush's low ratings on handling the situation in Iraq. Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling the Iraq war; 31 percent approve. And intensity continues to run against Bush on the issue: Fifty-five percent "strongly disapprove" of his work there, while only 17 percent "strongly approve" of it.
It may be that Americans expect something Washington can't deliver: honest, informed deliberations, and full debate with equal time for both sides.
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