Americans Down on Feds, Poll Says

Approval ratings hit 10-year low, but Hillary's no shoo-in

By Sam Gale Rosen, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 4, 2007 3:55 PM CST

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Americans Down on Feds, Poll Says — Sign stands sentry outside an existing home on the market in the Country Club area southeast of downtown Denver on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. A gauge of future economic activity edged higher in September, suggesting the economy may trudge forward at a modest pace despite a worsening housing slump. The... (Associated Press)

Americans are down on the feds these days, a new poll shows. Only 24% give them thumbs up, while 75% want White House policy change—the worst ratings in a decade, the Washington Post reports. Dems can best capitalize on discontent in 2008, numbers say, but Hillary's leads against Giuliani or McCain are slim. And voters don't like the Democratic Congress either.

What worries voters most? Almost half name the Iraq war as tops or second in picking a new prez. About a third say the economy or health care. Some moods are in flux, like takes on same-sex civil unions—backed by 55%, a big boost from 2004—and amnesty for illegals, now okayed by 51%. Both changes aid a Dem hopeful, but one analyst warns, "A year from now, it's not going to be a referendum on President Bush, it's going to be a choice between two candidates." (More Washington Post ABC poll stories.)

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