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Poll: Root canals are more popular than Congress

What’s your attitude toward potentially unpleasant realities of life such as root canals or bullies on a school playground? Meth labs? Used-car salesmen?
File Photo: The dome of the U.S. Capitol is seen on Capitol Hill August 28, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images/File)
File Photo: The dome of the U.S. Capitol is seen on Capitol Hill August 28, 2012 in Washington, DC.

What’s your attitude toward potentially unpleasant realities of life such as root canals or bullies on a school playground? Meth labs? Used-car salesmen? How about adding Congress into the mix?

The latest survey from Public Policy Polling did just that. People were asked to choose  between Congress and some of those facts of life we either dread, or at least deal with only when we have to.

It comes as no surprise that people are not holding Congress in very high regard these days, especially after watching the chaos that unfolded during the fiscal cliff negotiations. On top of that, the 112th Congress will go down in history as the most unproductive session since the 1940’s, passing just 219 bills. That’s over 100 fewer pieces of legislation than the 111th Congress.

The poll revealed Congress is less popular than NFL replacement refs, used-car salesmen and root canals.  The good news? Congress is more popular than playground bullies, meth labs and troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan.

In reference to his organization’s new survey, PPP President Dean Debnam acknowledges that it comes as no surprise that people don’t feel too good about Congress these days, “the fact that voters like it even less than cockroaches, lice, and Genghis Khan really shows how far its esteem has fallen with the American public over the last few weeks.”

Of course, this doesn’t all mean that used-car salesmen are experiencing a sudden surge in popularity. The sad fact is, the PPP survey shows Congress with a favorability of just 9%. Unfavorability stands at 85%.

Take a look at Hardball’s Sideshow for more of these not-so-redeeming comparisons. For full poll results, click here.