Of nine major issues covered by the news media in weeks before the Aug. 7-10 survey, campaign finance came in eighth in public interest, outranking only NATO expansion. While few Americans were paying much attention to news out of Washington, the budget and tax debate ranked fifth in public attention and the legislation got a 72 percent approval rating. Even though Democrats have been the main targets of the Senate committee probe, their Republican accusers suffered too. The share of Americans who said neither party is capable of ethical governance increased from 18 percent to 26 percent over the past year, the survey showed. Independents lost confidence in both parties.
Maine is no different from the rest of the country in spreading the blame widely.
It's not limited to one party. Collins put it a bit more discreetly.