Election 2006 was a referendum on President Bush and the GOP Congress. As Election Day dawned, just 15% of Americans rated the performance of the GOP Congress as good or excellent. For the GOP faithful, it probably seemed as if it couldn’t get any worse. But, now, as the Republican Congress is fading into history, their ratings have sunk a bit lower--just 13% now say they’re doing a good or an excellent job (see crosstabs).

A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 Likely voters found that only 12% of Americans believe that Congress had passed any legislation in the preceding year that will “significantly improve life in America.” That’s down from 17% on Election Day. Showing that American distrust of politicians is alive and well, just 15% believe that most Members of Congress are sincerely interested in helping people. Seventy-two percent (72%) believe that most in Congress are primarily interested in advancing their own careers. Earlier in 2006, a Rasmussen Reports survey found that a plurality of Americans believe used-car salesmen are more trustworthy than Members of Congress.

Most of the incoming Democratic Party leaders are little known to most Americans. The same can be said of the new GOP Congressional team. One exception to this is Nancy Pelosi, slated to become the first woman Speaker of the House. Fifty-two percent (52%) of American voters believe their new Speaker is politically liberal.

The Supreme Court does a bit better in the approval game than Congress. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say the justices are doing a good or excellent job and another 41% say they’re doing a “fair” job.

Looking ahead, 46% believe it is at least somewhat likely that Congress will seriously address the important issues facing our nation in the coming year. That’s up slightly from 43% last month. Still, 49% say such attention to the public business is not very or not at all likely. A separate survey found that little is expected on the issues of immigration or Iraq.

Rasmussen Reports will be tracking voter attitudes on these questions every other week to monitor any impact from the shift in partisan control.

Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.