The latest Gallup poll (5/8-5/11/08) shows the job approval rating for the US Congress at an astonishingly low 18%. 76% of "we the people" disapprove of what they're up to in Washington DC. ( Apparently another 6% answered, "Cong...wha? I dunno.") And they say President Bush is a lame duck.
>But let's break that down and get inside the numbers as they might say on the worldwide leader in hype, ESPN. We know, from poll after poll, that women tend to approve of government more than men. Single women with children approve of big government far more than anyone else, which skews the numbers. So, it's a safe guess, that among men 18 years old and older the Congress of the United States has a job approval number approaching single digits. I believe it is also safe to say that the NFL is seen positively by nearly the inverse of those job approval numbers by the same group of men. Most of us would gladly go a year without the Congress holding a session. In fact, many of us dream of just that happy event. On the other hand, we know from past history that we would be watching Australian rules football and the CFL if the NFL went dark for a year. Ever hear anyone say, while the congress is on one of their vacations, "Golly, I sure wish the Senate was in session today." Only in the cloistered halls of the capitol building and the cushy offices attached to it could it make sense for the US Senate to attack the National Football League.
>Enter Arlen Specter. You've read and heard about his quest I'm sure. The Senate of the United States is not, nor was it ever designed to be, a law enforcement agency. Now I know they claim some jurisdiction because of anti-trust exemptions, but let's be honest here, somewhere over the years the Congress decided it was their job to haul free citizens of the United States up before them and grill them in public. When it's oil company executives, mortgage lenders, or pharmaceutical companies few people seem to care. I just wish that once someone would answer their demand to come "testify" with, "I'm sorry, I'm engaged in productive work here at XYZ corporation. You'll have to hold your PR event without me this time." But, and I understand this, everyone fears their power over us, so they comply. Well, the fact is, most of that "power" is an illusion and they wield it only because most people don't mind seeing those nasty business types getting grilled. Perhaps trying to take on the National Football League will be a bridge too far. If Specter's absurd overreach into this US institution results in people demanding that the DC clown show mind their own damn business, then it will actually be worth it.
