Public dissatisfied with Congress

From The New York Times:

A New York Times/CBS News poll published on Friday found that 61 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of Congress, the highest in a decade.

With Washington consumed by the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, Republicans know they need quick legislative gains to turn around those numbers. In addition to tax cuts, immigration, health care and energy prices, a new item is on the agenda, lobbying reform.

Republicans see Medicare as a potential trouble spot in November, and Representative Jack Kingston, the Georgia Republican who is vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, said he was urging his colleagues to confront the issue head on at home. "Our members have to get out there and engage in this Medicare confusion," Mr. Kingston said. "Medicare is a big problem."

The Senate has begun hearings on lobbying law changes, and both chambers hope to pass bills by the spring. . . . The idea, Mr. Kingston said, is to dispatch quickly with the lobbying changes, to change the topic to more winning issues.

"If the main re-election topic is Jack Abramoff, it's going to be hard because you're an incumbent," he said. "If the main topic is the economy, the war on terrorism and fuel independence, then you should be O.K."