Gov. Rendell's standing with the voters took a beating because of this year's long (longer, longest) fight over the state budget. The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows only 42 percent of Pennsylvanians approve of his performance. If it is any consolation to the governor, as lousy as his numbers are the state legislature's numbers are even worse: only 27 percent approve of its performance. "Gov. Ed Rendell remains at the low ebb of his governorship when it comes to public opinion, perhaps not surprising given the lengthy budget stalemate," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. The Connecticut school regularly does polling on issues in Pennsylvania and other Northeastern states
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