Newly empowered Democrats draw wrath of voters

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new Democratic-led Congress is drawing the ire of voters upset with its failure to quickly deliver on a promise to end the Iraq war.

This is reflected in polls that show Congress -- plagued by partisan bickering mostly about the war -- at one of its lowest approval ratings in a decade. Surveys find only about one in four Americans approves of it.

"I understand their disappointment," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "We raised the bar too high."

In winning control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans last November, Democrats told voters they would move swiftly to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

But they now say voters must understand they need help from Republicans to clear procedural hurdles, override presidential vetoes and force Bush to change course.

Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said he explained this recently to anti-war demonstrators. "'We know. We know,'" he quoted them as replying. "But we are so disappointed.'"

Biden, seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, said: "Voters are going to be mad with us until we end the war."

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said some Democrats understand "we can only do so much."

"Others are just very unhappy. I include myself among them," Pelosi, of California, told The New York Times.

Republicans have increasingly voiced their own concerns. Yet most have stood by Bush -- at least for now -- and given him the votes he needed to block timetables for withdrawal.

Republicans also are tweaking Democrats on other fronts, such as stalled efforts to upgrade health care and reduce the cost of college and energy.

'DO-NOTHING CONGRESS'

They are even adopting the same line Democrats once used against them, calling this "a do-nothing Congress."

"If Democrats fail to reverse course, the dynamics in the 2008 elections may shift significantly, allowing Republicans to run as the party of change ... only two years after Democrats successfully campaigned on that same theme," Senate Republican leaders told their ranks in a letter last week.

Just as it was before last year's elections, polls show most Americans believe the United States is headed in the wrong direction.