CNN's Carol Costello reports on the smaller bills that are still passing through the House of Representives.

In the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, you'd think it wouldn't be business as usual in the House of Representatives. But you'd be wrong.

The House has taken action on nearly 200 bills and regulations this year. Roughly a dozen of them have to do with the nation’s troubled economy, but many more of them are small bills, which are sometimes referred to as “vanity” bills. They are often inconsequential pieces of legislation naming buildings after friends or colleagues, or honoring a person or group, or authorizing the use of Federal property for use by an outside group.

CNN’s Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider says these actions by congressmen are useful in “building up their personal favorability rating. That’s how they stay elected... the question is, is it overwhelming other business?”

While it’s doubtful that’s the case, the business as usual presentation of small bills in these troubled times might give the wrong appearance when people are losing their jobs, living in tent cities, or losing their life savings in the stock market. “I think sometimes it seems out of touch,” says Congressional Quarterly’s Jonathan Allen.

So what are some of these bills? The Library of Congress has kept track of every single House of Representative floor action this year.

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Pretty well if you just look at the polls. His popularity is north of 60%, and that should be enough to drown out all but the most vocal boo birds.

But following the President's press conference Tuesday night an undercurrent of dissatisfaction was evident. The Presidential "Honeymoon Clock" is ticking.

CNN analyst Alex Castallanos, who supports Republicans, says the President's impatience at the news conference over a question about AIG is a sign that Mr. Obama himself is on the defensive about his politics. That question came from CNN's Ed Henry, and had to do with why it took Obama so long to react to the AIG bonuses. "Because," the President said, "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."

The next morning, CNN's "American Morning" received mostly favorable calls about the President's press conference, but once again there were doubters. Gloria from Georgia said, "as I watched the Presidential address I want to know when and where can we the people expect some changes." Another said, "He is putting fiction on the plate and not really solving the problems."

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