Capitulation Takes a Toll

A new ABC News poll shows slipping confidence in and support for Congress, largely over Iraq.

Six weeks ago the Democrats held a 24-point lead over Bush as the stronger leadership force in Washington; today that's collapsed to a dead heat. The Democrats' overall job approval rating likewise has dropped, from a 54 percent majority to 44 percent now -- with the decline occurring almost exclusively among strong opponents of the Iraq War.

Yet the Democrats' losses have not produced much in the way of gains for Bush or his party. The president's approval rating remains a weak 35 percent, unchanged from mid-April at two points from his career low in ABC News/Washington Post polls. The Republicans in Congress do about as badly, with just 36 percent approval....

The shift away from the Democrats in Congress has occurred on two levels. In terms of their overall approval rating, the damage is almost entirely among people who strongly oppose the war in Iraq. In this group 69 percent approved of the Democrats in April, but just 54 percent still approve now -- a likely effect of the Democrats' failure to push a withdrawal timetable through Congress.

Given that upwards of 70 percent of the public in any given poll are steadfastly opposed to this war, that erosion in support for the Democratic Congress is worrying. It's not insurmountable, of course, but does show the the primacy of Iraq over every other issue now in the public mind. And that they want the Congress to stand up to Bush on the war.