A RAY OF HOPE

Victories by Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona in 2006 were part of a national tidal wave of Democratic votes six years into the Bush administration that helped Democrats take control of Congress. Two years later, Republicans still seem divided and dispirited, and expectations are that Democrats will make substantial gains in 2008 as well.
But according to the latest Rasmussen Poll, for the first time in history the Congress that Mitchell and Giffords help lead has an approval rating in single digits. Only 2 percent of voters believe the Democratic Congress is doing an excellent job, and only 7 percent believe Congress is doing a good job. A majority — 52 percent — believe Congress is doing poorly — providing some hope to Sen. Tim Bee in Tucson and whoever emerges from the Republican primary in CD 5.
It also means President Bush is roughly three times as popular as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Congressional Democrats — a fact you are not likely to see mentioned often.