Pollster John Zogby yesterday released polling data showing that President Bush's approval rating is as low as it has ever been, with 44 percent rating him either excellent or good and a whopping 56 percent rating him fair or poor. And Bush is not the only one inside the Beltway who's widely unpopular.

The poll finds Congress rated even less favorably than the President, with just one-in-four Americans holding a favorable impression of the co-equal branch of government’s job performance. Seven-in-ten American voters, meanwhile, view Congress in negative terms, with half of all likely voters (47%) terming Congress’ job performance “fair.” The disapproval of Congress crosses the Red-Blue divide, with voters in both areas holding a negative view of the legislature—though Red Staters are slightly more favorable to the Republican-controlled body.

In a sign of voter dissatisfaction with Congress, a “generic ballot” question that asks voters which party’s candidate they would select for Congress finds the minority Democrats polling at 38% while the majority Republicans take 33%. A full one-in-five (20%) say they are not sure or will not vote in the mid-term Congressional elections next fall.

So much for an everlasting mandate.