Obama over the cliff? 

Historically, voters are a fickle lot.

Not this time. According to an op-ed piece in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, the American public actually remains consistent.

“In 15 consecutive Rasmussen Reports polls conducted over the past four months, the percentage of Americans that oppose the plan has stayed between 52 percent and 58 percent. The number in favor has held steady between 38 percent and 44 percent,” Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen explain.

Senior citizens – the most active health care users – remain the most steadfast opponents of its reform, the authors point out. In fact, for every voter calling Congress in support of reform, two more are railing against it.

Despite a charismatic hero (Obama), classic villains (insurance companies) and a 21^st century public relations campaign verging on textbook, the White House just can’t get any more traction than Wile E. Coyote once he races off that cliff.

Meanwhile, everyone complains about health care in this country. It’s almost as American as Canada-bashing (speaking of bad health care).

A colleague of mine likens it to the general American discontent with members of Congress. Sure, we all want to “throw the bums out,” but we never do. Incumbents are harder to get rid of than Girl Scout cookies.

So, here we all sit, bitching and moaning about premium hikes and pre-existing conditions, but don’t you dare do anything to change it.

• • 3/10/2010 2:32:46 PM
  • Jim Johnson
  • Health Care Reform
  • Health care in the U.S. does need reforming but not by federal government fiat. The reason so many voters are opposed to the Democratic Congress' (therefore the Democratic President's') proposals are too many to list here. What is desperately needed: stop Medicare fraud, reform the torte system, require universal coverage and stop anyone who happens to be in the U.S. from freeloading on American taxpayers. Universal obesity has to be a cultural change...not a Nanny Project by Michelle and Big Government.
• • 3/10/2010 2:48:37 PM
  • Bryan Hansen
  • I concur
  • As I speak to clients about the implications of healthcare reform, I find that many are simply uneducated about how their own healthcare system works. It's a complex system but when you look at the sum of the pieces it could actually be a very efficient system if given the chance to thrive. Part of the problem is that those who don't understand it, namely government, fear it and therefore try to control it, thus stymying the potential of a potentially effective system.
• • 3/10/2010 4:14:49 PM
  • George Arnold
  • Health Care Reform
  • I'm afraid we are going to miss a golden opportunity to have meaningful health care reform. This issue has become too political to "get it right"! I blame this mess on the President and the media. Neither one has done a good job of explaining the issue to the American people. The President speaks of health insurance reform and health care reform as if they were one and the same.
• • 3/10/2010 5:28:16 PM
  • Joe Rolando
  • Health Care
  • Very true, Mr. Storey. "We all sit, bitching and moaning about premium hikes and pre-existing conditions, but don't you dare do anything to change it." There were only a few token states which began changing their health care system before the Obama-McCain election. The majority of states waited to make changes, hoping to first see what was going to happen, made minor changes in the event the federal government changed the system or they didn't want to make change for whatever reason. Obamba takes office and agrees a change is needed. He wasn't so smug that he insisted on only one way to make the change. Rather, he left the job to Congress - the direct reps of the people of various states- to come up with a plan. They didn't or couldn't for a variety of reasons. The Democrats who objected to the Congressional proposals shared some of the same concerns of the Republicans, who said the word that puts fear in anyone --"It's socialism" and it will bankrupt the U.S., despite the CBO's Dec. 19, 2009 report that over the next 10 year period the Senate bill cost projection would not be meaningful because the uncertainties involved are simply to great. BUT - the CBO in a clarrification letter on Dec. 20, said during the second 10 years, health bill would save "between one-quarter percent and one-half percent of GDP." So, Obamba agreed to meet with Republicans, who said the president only was paying lip service to them. Still, he came out with his own proposal, throwing out some provisions the Republicans felt were harmful about the Senate bill. The Republicans still weren't satisifed. Now, it seems no one wants to listen to anything Obama says. So, like Mr. Storey said, We all sit, bitching and moaning about premium hikes and pre-existing conditions, but don't you dare do anything to change it." We have our selves to blame. Oh, and medical costs will continue to rise. Now, I guess, we're going to have to go to doctors, hospitals and prescription drug companies and pressure them to hold down the cost of MEDICAL CARE. I don't think this will get too far with the mind-set of the Republicans and some Democrats.