Public's Mad At Congress - Not Government

I thought this survey by the Pew Research Center was interesting -- taken between October 9th and 13th of 1,504 adults across the nation (with a 2.9 point margin of error).

The survey said that Americans no longer felt they could trust their government all or most of the time -- only about 19% said they could. But is that all of government, or just part of it that can't be trusted -- that the public is angry with? It turns out it is just part -- Congress in particular.

We have already seen that poll after poll shows us that the president is viewed much more favorably than Congress (more than twice as favorable in every survey). Now this Pew survey shows that stretches to other parts of government also. Note that not only the general public, but all three political persuasions, view Congress very unfavorably. But when you look at the major agencies, they are viewed much more favorably -- and that includes the IRS and the NSA (which one might expect many to view unfavorably).

This is not just because of the shutdown brought on by the Republicans in Congress. People have been angry with Congress for a while now. The shutdown was just sort of the final disgusting straw. Americans are not really angry with government -- they are angry with, and distrustful of, Congress. And justifiably so. They are angry because the Congress (especially the Republicans) seem more interested in playing political games than solving the serious problems facing this country.