AP Poll: Lawmaker standing falls, corruption
serious problem
AP Poll: Lawmaker standing falls, corruption serious problem
By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Indictments, investigations and a congressman’s guilty plea for taking millions in bribes
have left most Americans convinced that political corruption is a deeply rooted problem, according to an Associated
Press-Ipsos poll.
Missteps and misconduct that have reached into all levels of government — from the White House and Congress to
governors’ offices in Connecticut and Ohio — have helped drive 88 percent of those surveyed to say the problem is a
serious one.
Scandal has touched all politicians. President Bush’s approval rating was 42 percent, slightly better than his standing
in the previous AP-Ipsos poll, due in part to improvements in the economy. Still, 57 percent of those surveyed
disapproved of Bush’s handling of the presidency.
More ominous as the 2006 elections loom was the public’s opinion of the Republican-controlled Congress.
Sixty-five percent of respondents disapproved of lawmakers’ work in Washington and only 31 percent approved, the
worst numbers since AP-Ipsos began asking the question in January.
Several of those interviewed said corruption was endemic to a political system awash in colossal amounts of lobbying
money and beset by an insatiable demand for campaign cash.
“It’s kind of the nature of politics, working with money and finance, things happen every day that are questionable,”
said David Innerebner, a conservative-leaning missionary from Hayward, Wis.
In 2004, federal lobbyists spent $2.1 billion — the equivalent of the gross domestic product of the Republic of Congo
or the amount the U.S. government spends annually on energy assistance for low-income Americans. In that same year,
candidates pursuing the presidency and seats in Congress spent more than $3 billion.
“It seems like everything seems to be corrupted,” said Sylvia Kind, a dietitian from Akron, Ohio.
Some of the experts who make their careers focused on government ethics and reform were struck by the strong public
perception of politicians.
“From the local mayor or sheriff all the way up to the president, it means people have a real distrust of their
government,” said Larry Noble, head of the Center for Responsive Politics campaign watchdog group.
Added Jan Baran, a Washington lawyer who specializes in ethics rules and campaign finance: “The message to
politicians is to get their house in order.”
People questioned in the survey had no trouble reciting the names associated with offenses and inquiries:
—Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, faces money laundering charges.
—Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is under a federal investigation for a well-timed stock sale.
—I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, has been indicted on five counts of
perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI in the outing of a CIA officer.
DeLay, Frist and Libby have said they have done nothing wrong.
—Last month, Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., resigned after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in
bribes in exchange for steering government work to defense contractors. His list of excess included money for a Rolls-
Royce, antique furniture and two Laser Shot shooting simulators.
—A Justice Department investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to ensnare at least a half dozen Republicans
and Democrats and Bush administration officials.
“They’re so power hungry they’d do anything to stay in power,” said Renee Becher, a 51-year-old homemaker from
Dahlonega, Ga. “They’ve made our country become like Rome.”
The AP-Ipsos survey found that 91 percent of women consider corruption a serious problem, compared with 84
percent of men. Overall, 67 percent said the number of people involved in corruption ranges from moderate to a lot.
Democrats were considered more ethical by 36 percent, while 33 percent cited Republicans. That difference is within
the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Some 40 percent of women said Democrats were more ethical than Republicans, while 32 percent of men offered a
similar view.
“I think there are those in the Republican Party that have their problems and I think it’s politically motivated that they
bring these to the limelight,” said Paul Deshaies, a retired prison chaplain from Lancaster, Ohio.
The scandals could cost incumbents in next year’s election. The low regard for Congress nearly mirrors the numbers
recorded in polls conducted in December 1993, several months before the Republican tidal wave that ended 40 years of
Democratic control of the House.
Worldwide, the United States gets higher marks. The 2005 index on corruption perceptions ranked the U.S. at 17, not far
behind Germany, Hong Kong and Canada, according to Transparency International, a nongovernment global watchdog on
corruption