The percentage of Americans eligible to vote who did , in fact , vote was 63 % in 1960 , but has been falling since . Public opinion polls asking people if they approve of the job Congress is doing have , in the last few decades , generally been low . Approval ratings in December 2007 were 25 % , meaning only 1 out of 4 Americans approved of Congress . Approval ratings from 1974 to 2009 have varied within a range from 20 % to 50 % , with variation , with a spike of over 84 % in October 2001 after the 9/11 attacks . From 2006 to 2009 , ratings have hovered in the 25 % range , with a high of 37 % in early 2007 , and an all-time low of 14 % in late 2008 . Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson in '' Bad for Democracy '' argues that all citizens seem to do , politically , is vote for president every four years , and not much else ; they 've abandoned politics . Apathy was lower in the 2008 election , which featured a competitive election for president . However , voter turnout in 2008 ( 62 % ) was the highest since 1968
9/11 attacks
September 11 attacks
U.S. Congress and citizens