Less than two years ago, Democrats basked in the glow of an impressive political triumph. Today, they are contemplating the very real prospect of losing their House majority. What happened?

One month before the midterm elections, Americans offer harsh judgments on Republicans and Democrats in Washington with roughly three-quarters saying partisans have been bickering more than usual and approval ratings for leaders of both parties in Congress matching long-time lows.

Brazilians are relatively upbeat about the state of their country, although they still see serious challenges, including illegal drugs, crime and political corruption. And Brazilians are confident about their country’s place in the world: most say Brazil already is or will eventually be one of the world’s leading powers.

The latest Congressional Connection poll finds most in the public are in no mood for political compromising. Also, Americans split evenly on which political party could best handle the economy while four-in-ten say eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy would hurt the economy.

Despite all the animosity aimed at Washington, one usual political punching bag is actually not seen as villainous as it once was: taxes. More say they pay about the right amount in taxes than say they pay more than their fair share.

While a majority of Americans favors allowing changes to Social Security, there is very little support for replacing Medicare with a voucher system. Also, the public continues to see no clear leader atop the GOP.

Confidence in Turkish institutions and leaders -- including the military, religious leaders, and the prime minster -- has declined over the last few years. And Turks continue to express largely negative views of major world powers.

In contrast to the Beck's comments, it's incorrect to say that “most” Christians do not view Mormons as Christians. However, many have mixed views about Mormonism.

While global publics largely take a positive view of the president's leadership and foreign policy, he receives his lowest marks on dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- and his ratings on this issue are especially negative in the Arab nations of the Middle East.

Most Americans say that the nation is no better prepared for hurricanes and other natural disasters than it was in 2005. However, the public does see progress in rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf region.