9 Things More Popular Than Congress

What is more popular than Congress? Hint: Everything.

ByABC News
August 16, 2012, 5:44 PM

Aug. 18, 2012 -- intro: Congress has once again reached its lowest approval rating in history. A mere 10 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, according to the latest Gallup poll, tying February's lowest-ever rating in Gallup's 38-year history of polling on this measure.

Here are a few things that Americans like better than their lawmaking body.

quicklist: 1title: TSAtext: They pat you down, they tear through your luggage and they confiscate your beverages, but the majority of Americans think the Transportation Safety Administration is doing a good job. In fact, according to a Gallup poll released this month, a higher percentage of people believe TSA's airport security is doing an "excellent" job – 13 percent – than approve of the job Congress is doing – 10 percent.

quicklist: 9title: People Who Hate the Olympicstext: There's swimming, soccer, gymnastics and even horse dancing, but 16 percent of Americans still don't like the Olympics. According to a July ABC/Washington Post poll, more people have an unfavorable view of the London Olympics than have a favorable view of Congress.

quicklist: 2title: The Most Disliked Company In Americatext: After massive power outages and rate hikes, the Long Island Power Authority earned the crown as the most hated company in America, according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. But even the expensive, occasionally unreliable power company is more popular than Congress.

quicklist: 3title: The Least Popular Living Former Presidenttext: Former President George W. Bush is the least popular ex-president who is still living. But he is still significantly more popular than Congress.

According to a June CNN/ORC poll, 43 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Bush. His father, former President George H.W. Bush had a 59 percent rating, and his predecessor Bill Clinton got a 66 percent rating. The only other living former president, one-term Democratic President Jimmy Carter was seen favorably by 54 percent of Americans polled.

quicklist: 4title: President Obamatext:The leader of the executive branch has an approval rating five times as high as the legislative branch of government. Gallup's daily tracking poll shows 50 percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing.

quicklist: 5title:Mitt Romneytext: The man vying for the White House is also considerably more popular than Congress. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll 40 percent of Americans have a favorable view of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney; that's four times as high as Congress' favorability rating.

quicklist: 6title: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardaritext: Pakistan may be riddled with terrorist bombings, drone strikes and food shortages, but the country's citizens have more faith in their president than Americans have in their Congress. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's approval rating within his country in 2011 was twice as high as the U.S. Congress' current approval rating, according to Gallup polling.

quicklist:7title:Banks and Financial Institutionstext: On the heels of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was sparked by outrage against big banks, those banks and financial institutions had a higher approval rating than Congress currently has. In February, 22 percent of respondents to a Pew Research Center poll said they had a positive view of banks and financial institutions. That's twice the support that Congress has.

quicklist: 8title: Socialismtext: "Socialism" may be a dirty word in many political circles, but among Americans overall a spread-the-wealth society is viewed more positively than the current Congress. According to a Pew Research Center poll released last December, 31 percent of respondents had positive view of socialism, about three times the percentage that said this week that they approve of Congress.