This chart is based on the newest Gallup Poll on congressional approval (done between September 5th and 8th of 1,510 random nationwide adults, with a 3 point margin of error). Approval of the job Congress is doing is still very low (about 19%) -- far lower than approval of President Obama's job performance.But believe it or not, that 19% approval actually represents an improvement in the public's view of Congress. The approval in this poll last month was only 14% -- about 5 points lower. And this improvement seems to be reflected across the political spectrum -- with Republicans (18%), Independents (19%), and Democrats (20%) all being within the margin of error (meaning there is probably no difference at all in their approval ratings for Congress).
One could wonder why congressional approval has shown a significant increase. After all, Congress has accomplished absolutely nothing since the poll last month. Gallup believes this improvement is due to many members of Congress opposing military action against Syria (which most Americans also opposed). I'm not so sure. After all, most people still believed that Congress would approve the strikes after arguing among themselves.
I think the reason is that Congress has been on an extended vacation -- and has just returned to Washington. After all the ridiculous in-fighting and obstructionism that has gone on in Congress, I think the people just like Congress better when it is not in session.
