Americans are increasingly unhappy with the direction in which the Republican Party is leading the country. National Journal has the story:

Congress is mired in partisan bickering over the filibuster, judicial nominees, ethics rules and Social Security, and the latest Gallup poll suggests the public isn't pleased.

Just 35 percent of respondents approved of the way Congress is doing its job. This marks the lowest approval rating in the Gallup poll since July 1997, according to the poll's analysis, well before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After the attacks, support for Congress spiked to an unprecedented 84 percent. Just prior to 9/11, only 49 percent of the public looked favorably on federal lawmakers' work.

The new rating keeps with the steady erosion of confidence in Capitol Hill that Gallup has logged over the past four years -- and matches Gallup's numbers from the mid- to late 1990s. Fifty-seven percent said they disapproved of Congress' job, up three points from last month's rating.

Both figures are consistent with findings of other recent polls. Late last week, for example, an Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs poll gave Congress just a 34 percent approval rating; CBS News reported 35 percent approval in mid-April. [link for the poll here]

As I've noted before, it's extremely important for the Democrats to remind the 57% of Americans who disapprove of Congress that the Republicans control both houses of Congress. By nationalizing the issue and constantly referring to the "Republican Congress" -- a la Harry Truman in 1948 -- the Democrats could have a real shot at making big gains next year.