Obama Tries To Control Health Care Message - Americans Not Buying It
by Sam Adams MMIV: The Washington Post writes today, “After spending weeks on the defensive in the fight over his top legislative priority, President Obama will attempt to regain the initiative in the health-care debate with an address to a joint session of Congress next Wednesday night. . . . The White House is scrambling to take control of the health-care debate after watching from the sidelines as various Democratic proposals were assailed in town hall meetings during Congress’s summer recess.” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) provided a bit of understatement, admitting, “Clearly, over the August break we lost some momentum.”
As The Wall Street Journal explains, “Two overarching problems have bedeviled the Democrats’ health-care push. One is the difficulty of persuading people who already have health insurance that the plan offers something for them. Polls suggest many Americans are happy with the coverage they have. The other is the cost, estimated at $1 trillion over a decade.”
The White House can certainly read the polls indicating Americans’ skepticism of Democrats’ health reform proposals, making it obvious why Obama feels he needs to attempt to take control of the debate. But does the administration really understand how much of a problem they have? A CNN poll released Tuesday found that a majority, 53%, now disapprove of the president’s handling of health care policy while 44% approve; in March, his approval on health care policy was 57%-41%. Even worse for President Obama’s expensive proposals, 63% disapprove of his handling of the deficit, compared to March where 52% approved.
CBS News released its own poll on Tuesday, finding that Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of health care by 47%-40%, a 9 point increase since July. A majority believe “the health care reforms under consideration in Congress” will “mostly hurt” the middle class (43%) or have no effect (21%). Twice as many (46%) believe it will hurt small business than believe it will help them (23%). By two to one, Americans believe the proposals will increase their health care costs and by almost three to one, they believe the proposals will make it harder to see their doctor. In CBS’ June poll, a majority (50%) believed government would do a better job of providing health insurance than private companies; now, a plurality (47%) thinks government would do a worse job and only about a third (36%) believe government will do a better job.
A poll from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released this week found that a majority of Americans, 53%, have now heard “a lot” about “the bills in Congress to overhaul the health care system” while another 40% have hard “a little.” So it seems the more people learn about the proposals from President Obama and Democrats, the less they think they’re a good idea. That might suggest to the president that the problem lies more with the policies than the pitches. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on a conference call yesterday, “I don’t think the problem is messaging, I think the problem is the substance. The problem is what he’s trying to sell. I think there’s been serious blowback and a negative reaction across the country to what they are proposing.”
Tags: Barack Obama, CBS, CNN, health care, Pew Research, polling, polls To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
As The Wall Street Journal explains, “Two overarching problems have bedeviled the Democrats’ health-care push. One is the difficulty of persuading people who already have health insurance that the plan offers something for them. Polls suggest many Americans are happy with the coverage they have. The other is the cost, estimated at $1 trillion over a decade.”
The White House can certainly read the polls indicating Americans’ skepticism of Democrats’ health reform proposals, making it obvious why Obama feels he needs to attempt to take control of the debate. But does the administration really understand how much of a problem they have? A CNN poll released Tuesday found that a majority, 53%, now disapprove of the president’s handling of health care policy while 44% approve; in March, his approval on health care policy was 57%-41%. Even worse for President Obama’s expensive proposals, 63% disapprove of his handling of the deficit, compared to March where 52% approved.
CBS News released its own poll on Tuesday, finding that Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of health care by 47%-40%, a 9 point increase since July. A majority believe “the health care reforms under consideration in Congress” will “mostly hurt” the middle class (43%) or have no effect (21%). Twice as many (46%) believe it will hurt small business than believe it will help them (23%). By two to one, Americans believe the proposals will increase their health care costs and by almost three to one, they believe the proposals will make it harder to see their doctor. In CBS’ June poll, a majority (50%) believed government would do a better job of providing health insurance than private companies; now, a plurality (47%) thinks government would do a worse job and only about a third (36%) believe government will do a better job.
A poll from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released this week found that a majority of Americans, 53%, have now heard “a lot” about “the bills in Congress to overhaul the health care system” while another 40% have hard “a little.” So it seems the more people learn about the proposals from President Obama and Democrats, the less they think they’re a good idea. That might suggest to the president that the problem lies more with the policies than the pitches. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on a conference call yesterday, “I don’t think the problem is messaging, I think the problem is the substance. The problem is what he’s trying to sell. I think there’s been serious blowback and a negative reaction across the country to what they are proposing.”
Tags: Barack Obama, CBS, CNN, health care, Pew Research, polling, polls To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 1:00 PM - Post Link
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