(USA TODAY/Gallup) Poll: Americans want Democrats, not Bush, at helm

WASHINGTON — Democrats have taken control of Congress this month amid a wave of good feeling from a public that places one issue at the top of their to-do list: Iraq.

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday shows that Americans by 2-to-1 — 63% to 32% — want congressional Democrats, not President Bush, to have more influence over the direction the nation takes in 2007 .

Half or more of those surveyed identify four issues as "extremely important" for the White House and Congress to deal with this year: The situation in Iraq, terrorism, corruption in government and health care.

That's a shift from recent years. At the beginning of 2005 and 2006, terrorism and Iraq essentially were tied as the issues of highest importance to the most Americans. But the war in Iraq has grown in importance each year and now has clearly moved into the top spot.

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