The ups and downs of the published polls about Obama’s health care proposals dramatically illustrate the ferocity of the headwinds he faces as he desperately tries to sell his program to a suspicious and wary public.
Before Obama addressed the nation and a joint session of Congress, his proposals drew only 45% approval (Rasmussen). But after he spoke, support for his health care proposals rose until it peaked at 52%. Then, a scant week after his speech ended, public support had quietly but quickly eroded back down to 42%.
It is no surprise that a nationally televised presidential speech can move support for the chief executive’s program by 7 points. But it is shocking that - in the absence of any other major independent negative event - these new supporters would flee in the space of one week and that three percent more would move against him.
That spells big trouble for Obama. It means that the wind is blowing in his face as he tries to make headway for his health care program. This seven point post-speech slippage in seven days indicates that all the breakfast tables and lunch counters, and medical examining rooms are abuzz with conversation about health care changes, most of it negative to the president’s wishes.
There comes a time in the most heated of political debates when the small media drowns out the big media and the grass roots outgrow the giant trees. Nobody has the president’s huge microphone. But we all have voices and, when they swell to a chorus, they dominate the national dialogue.
Bush encountered such sales resistance over Iraq as Johnson did on Vietnam and Nixon over Watergate. No presidential speech or Congressional phalanx can out shout an aroused American public. All the tools of spin doctors and media mavens are useless in the face of a growing public, national consensus is this idea and this plan are fundamentally flawed.
It is, essentially, a program to force people who don’t need it to buy health insurance so as to lower costs for those who do and to subsidize part of the price tag by cutting medical care to the elderly.
Will the sixty Democratic Senators and the 76 vote House majority pass it anyway? It is hard to estimate a politician’s capacity for suicide or how easy it is to lead a political party into oblivion. But, certainly, when opposition to the president’s program grows from the current 42-55 disapproval into the 35-65 range, Congress must balk rather than march over the cliff.
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They seem hell bent on walking over that cliff. They act as if they think that the public will support them (and the reform) after it’s passed. In the end I think their blatant arrogance has poisoned their relationship with Independents and wishy washy “reach across the aisle, we can work with him” Republicans. Still, the GOP needs to find their spine and so far only a few in the party seem to have one.
I would agree that Congress thinks most of the objections to the health care bill are from selfless idiots (i.e., the average American) and is very limited in its scope. As JimH says they think Americans will support the bill once it is passed. The biggest mistake the Democrats made was not realizing many people who voted for Obama did so with a great deal of skepticism. That skepticism has now come to reality.
How can you say health care is such a national urgency and yet postpone a decision on troops to Afghanistan where people are actually placing their lives in harm’s way?
Associating with a radical for a short period of time and then admitting a mistake (is one thing), however, having contact with these type of people for years and then hiring them as advisors, czars, or whatever is another. If you associate with radicals for that long a period of time you must be a radical yourself.
I truly believe this left wing part of the Democratic Party is not culturally American and is trying to make America lower itself from being a leader of the free world to another socialist community country.
I wish Dick Morris or someone would look into part of this bill where it outlines the cash to Unions and exceptions (for their organizations) to some provision (all us other selfless idiots would have to accept). This bill also seems to be a bailout for the UAW and place the burden of their huge health costs on the American taxpayer.
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