People actually trust the government to handle Ebola. Kind of.

This photo provided by the CDC shows an ebola Virus. U.S. health officials are monitoring the Ebola outbreak in Africa but say the risk of the deadly germ spreading to the United States is remote. (AP Photo/CDC)

Americans, as they often are when it comes to political issues, are pretty conflicted about Ebola.

On the one hand, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows they are deeply dissatisfied with the effectiveness of the political system -- a.k.a. all the people and processes that are in place to address things like health emergencies. The dissatisfaction is bipartisan, with 66 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans agreeing.

Again, that confidence is largely bipartisan, with 54 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats expressing confidence.

Even as people are confident in the federal government's ability to handle Ebola, though, that doesn't extend to President Obama. Just 28 percent of Republicans approve of his personal response, along with 55 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of independents.

Given that the Ebola outbreak, which is so far limited to Texas and only a handful of people, is a moving story, these numbers could and will change. But so far, Americans largely see the federal government as capable of responding effectively, even as they have little faith in it to carry out its duties more generally.

Got that?