The latest New York Times/ CBS News Poll indicates that Americans are overwhelmingly disappointed with the way Congress handled the debt ceiling negotiations:
A record 82 percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job — the most since The Times first began asking the question in 1977, and even more than after another political stalemate led to a shutdown of the federal government in 1995.
More than four out of five people surveyed said that the recent debt-ceiling debate was more about gaining political advantage than about doing what is best for the country. Nearly three-quarters said that the debate had harmed the image of the United States in the world.
Republicans in Congress shoulder more of the blame for the difficulties in reaching a debt-ceiling agreement than President Obama and the Democrats, the poll found.
The Republicans compromised too little, a majority of those polled said. All told, 72 percent disapproved of the way Republicans in Congress handled the negotiations, while 66 percent disapproved of the way Democrats in Congress handled negotiations.
The survey, which was taken between August 2nd and 3rd, signifies that the vast majority of Americans believe Congressional leaders acted irresponsibly and were far more concerned with scoring political points that solving the nation's debt crisis. Most startling, while the approval ratings of Congress have sunk to 14%, President Obama is holding steady at 48%. In fact, more people approve of his job performance than disapprove.
In short, given the abysmal state of the economy, and his track record over the last three years, the numbers can be summed up in one word: unbelievable.
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