The Mandate

CBS News latest poll confirms what other surveys have found about public reaction to the feeding tube frenzy of last weekend, except the numbers are even more pronounced: 82% say Congress and the prez should stay out of the Schavio case. Asked why Congress got involved, all of 13% said because they cared about the woman in question; 74% said it was to advance a political agenda.

Lest we now push the liberal media reflex button, 44% of respondents were Republican, only 29% Democrat, with 28% Independent. This disfavors Democrats in proportion to registration and voting numbers. The poll is biased, in favor of the GOPers.

The Republican Congress got an overall approval rating of 34% with 49%---a near majority---disapproving. This is a 7% drop in approval, and 5% jump in disapproval, in one month.

President Bush's fictional mandate slips farther into the realm of GOPer fantasy. His approval also dropped 6% in a month, to 43%. His already dismal approval rating on the economy dropped further, from 38% to 36%. But his approval on Iraq, now that the bloom is off the election, dropped 6% to 39%.