Although most elected officials harbor a healthy dose of paranoia and apprehension, many members of Congress have found reassurance in recent polling about their performance and the overall satisfaction of the nation's voters. For the last 18 months or so, Congress has enjoyed higher job approval ratings than in some time, and more Americans say the country is headed in the right direction than since the 1991 Persian Gulf War victory.
While voters have been relatively content, the poll numbers have not remained static. Polling by the Southfield, Michigan- based GOP firm of Market Strategies shows the percentage of Americans saying the country is headed in the right direction rose from 40 percent in November and December to 46 percent in January, just after the Monica Lewinsky story broke and President Clinton delivered the State of the Union address.
The right direction numbers then moved up 5 points to 51 percent in late February. Since then, however, those numbers have dropped in each of the last three months for an 11-point decline since February. There has been a corresponding increase
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