Congressional Approval at Historic Low

This calls for some fresh condescension from our moral superiors in Congress reminding us how stupid we are and what they're doing is in our best interest. Of course the media will spin this as some sort of "anti-incumbency" mood, but let's face facts. Nancy Pelosi's disastrous four-year reign of error has now resulted in her Congress having an all-time low approval rating. Heck, even newspapers have higher approval.

Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll finds Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year. Eleven percent of Americans say they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low for Congress, recorded in 2008.

The Gallup poll was conducted July 8-11, shortly before Congress passed a major financial regulatory reform bill.

Underscoring Congress' image problem, half of Americans now say they have "very little" or no confidence in Congress, up from 38% in 2009 -- and the highest for any institution since Gallup first asked this question in 1973. Previous near-50% readings include 48% found for the presidency in 2008, and 49% for the criminal justice system in 1994.

You know what this call for, right? How about some cap-and tax legislation!