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Americans Ponder New Order in Washington
- Adults in the United States are split on the way their federal government will function in the next two years, according to a poll by Ipsos-Public Affairs released by the Associated Press. 48 per cent of respondents are confident that U.S. president George W. Bush and the Democrats in Congress can work together to solve the country's problems, while 50 per cent are not confident.
American voters renewed the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 7. The Democratic Party will take control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, with at least 229 lawmakers. A victory for the Democratic candidates for the Senate in Montana and Virginia also gave the party a majority in the upper house.
On Nov. 17, Democratic California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi—who will become House speaker—discussed her plans, saying, "The new Democratic Congress will live up to the highest ethical standard, beginning with the first 100 legislative hours when we start to change the way business is done in Washington. We are prepared to lead and ready to govern. We will honour the trust of the American people; we will not disappoint." 42 per cent of respondents think the country will be better off with the Democrats in control of Congress, but 57 per cent think the party does not have a plan on how to handle the situation in Iraq.
Polling Data
How confident are you that U.S. president George W. Bush and the Democrats in Congress can work together to solve the country's problems?
Very confident | 8% |
Somewhat confident | 40% |
Not too confident | 30% |
Not at all confident | 20% |
Not sure | 2% |
Now that the Democrats have taken control of Congress, do you think the country will be.
Better off | 42% |
Worse off | 21% |
Will not make much difference | 33% |
Not sure | 4% |
Do the Democrats in Congress have a plan on how to handle the situation in Iraq, or not?
Yes | 29% |
No | 57% |
Not sure | 14% |
Source: Ipsos-Public Affairs / Associated Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 American adults, conducted from Nov. 10 to Nov. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.