tamatoledonews.com – UTICA, NEW YORK (SPECIAL) – As Democratic and Republican party leaders prepare to meet over healthcare reform in an attempt to strike some measure of bi-partisan consensus, a new Zogby Interactive survey finds little common ground among Americans in opinions toward Washington and the political process.

The Zogby Interactive survey of 2,068 adults nationwide offered three sets of contrasting statements about the actions, beliefs and behaviors of elected officials in Washington.  The survey was conducted Feb. 17 through Feb. 19, 2010 and carries a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

The survey found that nearly half (49%) are more likely to cite Congress “passing bad bills” as more of a problem than getting nothing done (37%.) By nearly the same margin, 48% believe politicians “fighting too much” is more problematic than their being “cozy to each other rather than stick to their principles” (39%). Lastly, 50% are more bothered by people in Washington “who think they are smarter than the rest of us” than they are by “partisan bickering” (41%).