Congress records the lowest confidence rating ever.

And when I say "lowest confidence rating ever," I don't mean just for Congress.

In more Gallup poll fun, the polling group's latest survey of Americans' faith in national institutions find that just six percent say they have a "great deal" of confidence in Congress.

Six percent.

Not only is that the lowest rating of any of the sixteen institutions mentioned, it's the lowest rating ever measured for ANY institution in the 35-year history of the poll. Even when you throw in the other six percent who say they have "quite a lot" of confidence, it's still the lowest rating of any institution.

So just whom do the American people trust more than Congress?

Well, there's the obvious. Forty-five percent have a great deal of confidence in the military. Another 26 percent say "quite a lot."

Thirteen percent say they have a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court, more than twice the number who feel the same about Congress. Another 19 percent say "quite a lot."

Even the Presidency fares better than Congress, with 13 percent reporting both a great deal and quite a lot of confidence. That's more than twice the percentage Congress enjoys.

What about the Democrats' favorite boogeyman, "Big Business?" Seven percent of Americans record the highest amount of trust, with another 13 percent reporting quite a lot of confidence in Big Business.

Even HMOs are more trusted than Congress. Like Congress, six percent of Americans sya they have "a great deal" of confidence in HMOs, but a larger number, seven percent, report "quite a lot" of confidence.

Let's see. That means even during the child molestation scandals the Church was more trusted than the Democrat-led Congress. Even the Nixon White House was more trusted than this Congress.