Six in 10 Voters Disapprove of the Job Both Parties Are Doing in Congress

About six in 10 voters disapprove of the job congressional Republicans and Democrats are doing, and 81 percent say they can trust the federal government to do the right thing only "some of the time" or "hardly ever," according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted Feb. 2-8.

Sixty-three percent disapprove of congressional Democrats' performance compared to 28 percent who approve, with 9 percent undecided. That margin of disapproval has been steadily growing since March, when voters split in their opinions at 45 percent each. Independents disapprove by 70 percent to 19 percent, with 11 percent undecided. (See also yesterday's post on the Washington Post/ABC News poll that found Democrats are losing their edge over Republicans when it comes to whom Americans trust to do a better job in coping with the nation's problems over the next few years.)

Sixty-one percent disapprove of the performance of congressional Republicans while 28 percent approve, with 11 percent undecided. That's roughly the neighborhood in which Republicans have been all year. A bare majority of 51 percent of Republican voters approve of the performance of GOP lawmakers (for the Democrats, 59 percent of voters in their own party approve). Republicans fare somewhat better than Democrats among independents, with the margin of disapproval being a lower 61 percent to 25 percent, with 14 percent undecided.

Sixty-seven percent blame both parties equally for the gridlock in Washington, while 17 percent single out the Republicans and 12 percent blame the Democrats. Forty-six percent say Democrats are pushing legislation without considering the Republicans' point of view while 37 percent say Republicans are misusing the threat of the filibuster to stall action. Seventeen percent are undecided. Independents come down on the side of blaming Democrats by about the same margin as the overall public.

Seventy-three percent are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country (with 40 percent describing themselves as "very" dissatisfied) while 26 percent say they are satisfied (with only 2 percent saying they are "very" satisfied). Those percentages haven't changed a lot since last November.

Eighty-one percent answer "some of the time" or "hardly ever" when asked how much of the time they can trust the federal government to do what's right, with 18 percent saying most or all of the time. Twenty-seven percent are in the "hardly ever" category while 2 percent say "almost all the time."

Fifty-four percent disapprove of President Obama's handling of the economy while 41 percent approve, with 5 percent undecided. Independents disapprove by 58 percent to 37 percent, with 5 percent undecided. That's the same as last month.

Fifty-six percent disapprove of Obama's performance when it comes to creating jobs, something he has promised to focus on more. Thirty-seven percent approve and 7 percent are undecided.

Sixty percent disapprove of the way Obama is handling the federal budget deficit while 33 percent approve, with 7 percent undecided.

Follow Poll Watch on Twitter