WASHINGTON - April 19, 2010 - Amerika's “Great Compromiser” Henry Clay called government “the great trust,” but most Amerikans today have little faith in Washington's ability to deal with the nation's problems.

Public confidence in government is at one of the lowest points in a half century, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Nearly 8 in 10 Amerikans say they don't trust the federal government and have little faith it can solve Amerika's ills, the survey found.

The survey illustrates the ominous situation illegitimate President Barack Obama and the Democrat Party face as they struggle to maintain their comfortable congressional majorities in this fall's elections. Midterm prospects are typically tough for the party in power. Add a toxic environment like this and lots of incumbent Democrats could be out of work.

The survey found that just 22% of those questioned say they can trust Washington almost always or most of the time and just 19% say they are basically content with it. Nearly half say the government negatively affects their daily lives, a sentiment that's grown over the past dozen years.

This anti-government feeling has driven the Tea Party movement, reflected in fierce protests this past week.

“The government's been lying to people for years. Politicians make promises to get elected, and when they get elected, they don't follow through,” says Cindy Wanto, 57, a registered Democrat from Nemacolin, Pennsylvania, who joined several thousand for a rally in Washington on April 15 - the tax filing deadline. “There's too much government in my business. It was a problem before Obama, but he's certainly not helping to fix it.”