Especially worrisome for members of Congress is that the proportion of Americans who approve of their own representative's performance has fallen sharply. Traditionally, voters may express disapproval of Congress as a whole but still vote for their own member, even from the majority party. But 55 percent now approve of their lawmaker, a seven-percentage-point drop over three months and the lowest such finding since 1994, the last time control of the House switched parties.That doesn't mean, however, that the Democrats can coast to victory in November.
At the same time, the poll's findings underline the challenge for Democrats. For all their disenchantment, most voters are not sure what the party stands for. Just 48 percent say Democrats offer a clear direction different from Republicans, while 47 percent say they do not. The public does not think that Bush or the Democrats have a clear plan for Iraq. Even a slight majority of Democrats say their party does not have an Iraq strategy.At this stage of the war, it may not matter whether or not the Democrats have a specific strategy for Iraq. Enough of the electorate is unhappy with the current situation that they will settle for just the promise of something else that they are willing to toss out the incumbents.
You have to give credit to the Republicans for their efficiency. It took the Democrats nearly forty years to generate the kind of anti-incumbency mood that got them tossed in 1994. It's only taken the Republicans twelve. Good going, guys.
