Americans hate Washington these days, and for good reason. The president and Congress can’t solve even the most obvious and pressing problems. The clearest example of their failure is SCHIP, a highly successful program providing health insurance to millions of children from poor and working-class families.

Polls show that three out of four voters support SCHIP (which stands for State Children’s Health Insurance Program). Forty-three governors, including 16 Republicans, back its expansion. Yet President Bush has vetoed one re-authorization bill and threatens to veto another.

As a result, SCHIP has already run out of money once this fall and will again on Nov. 16. If Congress fails to act, 21 states will have to shrink or cancel coverage next year.

This is a truly dreadful way to make public policy, and legislators of goodwill are still trying to draft a workable compromise. But they keep running into hardliners on both sides who would much rather have a political issue than a practical accomplishment.

In the twisted logic of today’s capital, failure is better than progress because you get to blame the other guy for the gridlock.

No wonder voters are so disgusted. In the latest ABC/Washington Post poll, President Bush’s favorable rating is 33 percent, the lowest of his presidency. Congress is even more unpopular, at 28 percent. Three out of four Americans say the next president should move the country in “a new direction.”