“First Victim in Judicial Fight: Congress's Image

. . . . “But she shares the view that, at the moment, the general public does not like what it sees from either side.

"Voters have been fed a steady diet of Terri Schiavo, judicial wrangling and basic bickering," Ms. Walter said. "It is a pox on both of them."

Backing her view, a poll conducted May 11-15 for the Pew center found that 64 percent of those surveyed believed that Congress was bickering more than usual, a level approaching public sentiment found in similar surveys during the budget battle that led to the government shutdown. Federal services were cut off for a total of about four weeks when a Republican-controlled Congress forced a stalemate with President Bill Clinton. And a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released this week found that 51 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Congress's performance, the highest level since 1994, when voters swept Democrats out of power.

. . . . Another factor in the public perception, according to some current and former lawmakers, is that Americans have little personal stake in a rules fight and can reach the conclusion that Congress is not looking out for them on pocketbook issues but is instead caught up in self-serving power struggles.”