Tough times leave Americans queasy, poll shows
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The bad news for Congress is that the latest poll found that just 8% of Americans said they have confidence in lawmakers’ leaders -- the same figure that Wall Street earned.
The good news is that Congress doubled its number from last year’s 4%.
That may be scant comfort in this midterm election year, but it is at least some, especially since many politicians have demonized Wall Street in these tough economic times. Still, Congress ranked below law firms and the media (both at 13%) and organized labor (14%), according to the annual Harris Poll Confidence Index released Tuesday.
In 2002, Harris said its overall confidence index touched 65; in 2008, it fell to 44. This year it stands at 53, one point lower than in early 2009.
The index, computed from telephone surveys of 1,010 adults in the U.S. between Feb. 16 -21, showed declines in most institutions, including the White House. Those who said they have a “great deal of confidence” in the White House fell from 36% to 27%.
But it wasn’t just political institutions that felt the sting of less popularity. Higher education fell from 40% to 35% and organized religion dropped from 30% to 26%.
There were increases, with more people more confident in the criminal justice system, rising to 24% from 19%. The military ranked highest at 59%.
The difference between those calling themselves Democrats and Republicans was also sharp. Republicans were far more confident in the military (79% vs. 54%), small business (62% vs. 44%) and organized religion (42% vs. 21%).
Democrats were more confident about the White House (54% vs. 7%) and organized labor (27% vs. 7%).
“This year, a bit of reality has set in and, thanks to the economy not turning around as quickly as most people hoped, a sense of pessimism is returning,” according to Harris Interactive, which runs the poll and index.
-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal
