While each offered positive portrayals of Gov. Ed Rendell's popularity, two new surveys suggested contrasting answers to the question of whether the Legislature has managed to rehabilitate itself with a public that delivered sharp rebuffs in last year's elections.

The IssuesPA/Pew Poll released this week found that two-thirds of state residents surveyed said they had a lot, or some, confidence in the state Legislature.

The Keystone Poll, conducted by Franklin & Marshall College, had more ominous news for legislators, as just 24 percent of its sample said the Legislature was doing an excellent or good job. Forty-eight percent told the F&M researchers that the Legislature was doing only a fair job and 18 percent said it was doing a poor job.

The wording of the questions designed to assess the lawmakers' standing was somewhat different in the two surveys. But beyond that difference was the fact that the IssuesPA/Pew survey found a significant improvement in the Legislature's overall standing, while the F&M poll found little change from the skeptical views offered by voters in previous polls.

In a November 2005 IssuesPA poll, only 48 percent said they had at least some confidence in the Legislature. Keystone surveys, dating to November 2003, by contrast have shown consistently dismal attitudes toward legislators.

Both polls found that Mr. Rendell continued to enjoy stronger numbers than the legislators after his landslide re-election victory last year against GOP candidate Lynn Swann. A bare majority of the Keystone Poll respondents had a positive view of his job performance, with 11 percent calling it excellent and 39 percent good. The IssuesPA/Pew survey asked how much confidence Pennsylvanians had in the governor, with an overwhelming majority, 72 percent, saying they had a lot or some confidence.

In the Keystone Poll, a plurality of Pennsylvanians, 46 percent, said they believed that the state was headed in the right direction, while 42 percent maintained that the state was on the wrong track, findings that have shown little movement over the past several years of the F&M survey.

Once again, on the general condition of the state, the IssuesPA/Pew numbers were more positive and showed a significant shift in opinions over the last year.

Sixty percent of the IssuesPA/Pew respondents said they were satisfied with the state's direction while just 32 percent said they were dissatisfied. A statement accompanying the survey noted that this was the highest satisfaction score the poll has recorded in the nearly four years of tis existence.

The poll found that the greatest positive shift among state residents came in southwestern Pennsylvania. In a survey conducted before last year's general election, the Pew researchers found that only 44 percent were satisfied and 50 percent dissatisfied in this corner of the state. In the latest findings, those assessments were reversed, with 56 percent satisfied and 39 percent dissatisfied.

The IssuesPA/Pew interviews took place a few weeks before those of the Keystone Poll. The Pew results were based on 1,096 interviews conducted from Jan. 17 to Jan. 30. It had a theoretical margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The Keystone Poll included 638 interviews conducted between Feb. 19 and Feb. 25 and had a theoretical margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.