Our unpopular Congress

A new Gallup poll shows Congress’s approval rating is at 17 percent. You’d be surprised at some of the things in history that have been more popular than the current Congress.

5 Seconds

00:00

According to a recent Gallup poll, Congress's approval rating is at just 17 percent. Here are some surprising things from recent history that were more popular than the current Congress — and a few it recently edged out.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

Caning

Shortly before American teenager Michael Fay was caned for theft and vandalism in Singapore in 1994, a Los Angeles Times poll found that 36 percent of Americans supported caning as a form of punishment for teenage vandals in the United States.

Heri Juanda / AP

Animal cloning

According to an ABC/Beliefnet poll in August 2001, 37 percent of Americans said cloning animals should be legal.

John Chadwick / AP

Handling of Fukushima

Just 17 percent of people in Japan approve of their government’s handling of the Fukushima crisis, in which a nuclear plant was damaged and leaked radiation in the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, devastating the communities surrounding it. That ties with this Congress.

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

Women wearing shorts in public

Believe it or not, a 1951 Gallup poll found that only 21 percent of Americans approved of women in their community wearing shorts in public in hot weather — but even that's still better than Congress right now.

Dana Felthauser / AP

Human cloning

Cloning humans for scientific purposes has been found to be just as popular than Congress. According to a 2002 Pew Research Center poll, 17 percent of Americans supported scientific experiments on human cloning.

/ AP

Bush at his nadir

President George W. Bush's popularity took a sharp dip after the 2008 financial crisis. A Washington Post/ABC News poll found his job approval rating reached a record low of 23 percent in October 2008. That's slightly lower than Richard Nixon's 24 percent approval rating when he resigned in August 1974, according to Gallup, but it's still much better than this Congress’s.

Charles Dharapak / AP

E.U. leaders handling the economic crisis

Another group of leaders with a higher approval rating than this Congress are those handling the European economic crisis. A 2012 Pew survey showed that 32 percent of Greeks had a favorable view of the leaders, even though just 18 percent believe their country was strengthened by European Union integration and a measly 2 percent say they’re satisfied with the economy and the country’s direction.

Yannis Behrakis / Reuters

Barry Bonds

In 2008, in the midst of the investigation into baseball star Barry Bonds' steroid use, 25 percent of people held a favorable view of him.

Robert Galbraith / Reuters

Tiger Woods during his affair scandal

In the wake of the November 2009 scandal, when the public learned that Tiger Woods had multiple mistresses and he lost numerous company sponsorships, 33 percent of Americans held a favorable view of the golfer.

Matt Sullivan / Reuters

Win over Paris Hilton

Congress only recently surpassed the approval rating for Paris Hilton — who garnered a 15 percent approval rating in a 2005 poll. In January, Congress' approval ratings had reached the Gallup all-time low of 10 percent in February. Not so hot.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Beating out the BP oil spill

Another (very slim) victory: After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP spill that released millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 16 percent approved of the way BP handled the situation. That's one percentage point lower than Congress.

Daniel Beltra / Reuters

Win over John Edwards

Congress can take solace in the fact that it has a wide margin over at least one of its former members. John Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina and presidential candidate, was found to have an approval rating of 3 percent in an April CBS News/New York Times poll. That was just before the trial on his use of money to cover up an affair with Rielle Hunter, the woman he cheated on his wife with after she was diagnosed with cancer and with whom he had a child he initially denied was his own.

John Adkisson / Reuters

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

Back to Previous Gallery

Discussion Policy | FAQ | About Discussions

Comments

Add your comment

Read what others are saying About Badges

SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.

More about badges | Request a badge

Culture Connoisseur Badge

Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.

More about badges | Request a badge

Fact Checker Badge

Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker.

More about badges | Request a badge

Washingtologist Badge

Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Writer Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.

Post Forum Badge

Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Weather Watcher Badge

Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.

More about badges | Request a badge

World Watcher Badge

World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Contributor Badge

This commenter is a Washington Post contributor. Post contributors aren’t staff, but may write articles or columns. In some cases, contributors are sources or experts quoted in a story.

More about badges | Request a badge

Post Recommended

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

You must be logged in to report a comment.

Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.

All comments are posted in the All Comments tab.

More about badges

Get a badge

To pause and restart automatic updates, click "Live" or "Paused". If paused, you'll be notified of the number of additional comments that have come in.