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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (61047)	8/18/2009 8:28:01 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 149317

I didn't see nor have to see his family history. I heard it from him directly when he was on CNN. My prediction is based on what I heard from him as well as seeing his behavior (facial expression, mannerisms etc.) when I happened to flip channels and ran into his show for the first time on FOX. I agree.....he looks like he is skating on the edge.

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (61047)	8/19/2009 12:48:36 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 149317

LIGHTING A FIRE, INTENTIONALLY OR NOT.... Perhaps the White House intended to signal a willingness to drop the public option, perhaps not. I've seen compelling arguments in both directions. Either way, whether intended or not, they sparked a furious response from liberals who saw more compromising than they are willing to accept. Noam Scheiber argues, persuasively, that the aggressive pushback from the left is great news. The two dominant forces in the larger debate of late have been a malleable White House, looking for a moderate, cautious reform package, and a hysterical right, screaming about euthanasia and Nazis. This week, progressives got back in the game. Around the conference table at TNR, we've been saying for weeks that what Obama really needed was a group of equally vocal, equally zealous critics on the left, pulling the debate's center of gravity in the other direction. And, wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what's happened over the last 48 hours. We've now got a pole on the left to match the intensity of the pole on the right. (Don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting a moral equivalence between the two. As far as I'm concerned, the critics on the left are basically right and the critics on the right are either insane or deeply cynical.) From a sheer tactical perspective, I think the White House and the Democratic leadership in Congress have dramatically improved their position. The benefits arise both in the broader national debate and in the congressional negotiations. In the national debate, Obama now looks like the centrist voice of reason instead of an over-ambitious lefty (I'm caricaturing, of course, in the spirit of the cable-news coverage). Inside Congress, Obama may not get a public option, but if he doesn't, he was never going to get it. And now he can extract a ton of concessions in return, because he can point to a left-wing of his party that's ready to eat him alive for failing to deliver on it (whereas that left-wing outrage was largely hypothetical before now). That kind of leverage is extremely helpful. It is, indeed. Once in a while, when something like this happens, I'll get emails from Obama supporters saying, "See? This guy's a ninja playing multi-dimensional chess! He's taking subtle steps, thinking several moves ahead! Looking at the trees, instead of the forest, obscures the genius of the larger strategy!" To which I say, maybe. There are some pretty sharp folks in the West Wing, and it's possible they've crafted a clever plan that's coming together just as they'd hoped. But watching the developments of the last several days, I'm inclined to think it's often better to be lucky than good.

To: ChinuSFO who wrote (61047)	8/19/2009 2:36:08 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

New Poll by Rasmussen Shows Tremendous Support for Public Health Care Option Without Public Option, Enthusiasm for Health Care Reform, Especially Among Democrats, Collapses Wednesday, August 19, 2009 rasmussenreports.com Just 34% of voters nationwide support the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats if the so-called “public option” is removed. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 57% oppose the plan if it doesn't include a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private insurers. Last week, Rasmussen Reports tracking found that support for the Congressional plan was at 42%. While the tracking question did not specifically mention the public option, it referred to the bill proposed by the president and congressional Democrats now working its way through Congress. All of the congressional committees that had passed reform legislation included a government health insurance plan. Therefore, it is reasonable to compare those results with the current polling to measure the potential impact of dropping the public option. The most dramatic impact is a sharp decline in enthusiastic support. Without the public option, only nine percent (9%) Strongly support the legislation. The earlier poll found 26% Strongly in favor of it. That enthusiasm gap is especially significant since the percentage of those opposed to the legislation has consistently been higher. Last week’s poll found 44% Strongly opposed to the reform legislation. If the public option is dropped, 37% remain Strongly opposed. The other dramatic shift can be found in the partisan dynamics. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. Without the public option, just 50% of Democrats support the legislation. That’s down from 69% support measured a week ago. But here the enthusiasm gap is especially strong. A week ago, polling found that 44% of Democrats Strongly favored the reform plan. Without the public option, just 12% of Democrats Strongly support it. Minus the government insurance option, 68% of Republicans remain opposed to the plan, down from 79%. As for those not affiliated with either major party, 70% are opposed if the public option is dropped. That’s up from 62% in the previous survey. Rasmussen Reports will be tracking overall support for the legislation again next week. These results suggest that the president has difficult choices ahead. A solid majority of unaffiliated voters are opposed to passing health care reform legislation with or without the public option. However, failure to pass a plan of any kind could create additional difficulties for the president, and a plan without the public option does not have the enthusiastic support of his base. This helps explain why, according to the New York Times, senior Democrats are considering going it alone on the reform plan without trying to get any Republican support for it. Other recent Rasmussen Reports polling highlights the underlying political challenges. Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters favor a single-payer health care system. These voters make up a heavy majority of those who favor passage of health care reform. They view the current legislation as a baby step along the way to a single-payer system. Most Americans oppose a single-payer system and are seeking reassurance that the current plan will not head in that direction. Overall, when it comes to health care decisions, 51% fear the government more than private insurance companies while 41% hold the opposite view. Most Americans support the concept of reform, but cost control is seen as the most important aspect of reform. Also, voters simply don’t believe the legislation will deliver the benefits that its advocates claim. Few believe it will increase patient choice or make health care affordable. In fact, most voters believe the passage of the current health care reform effort will lead to higher costs and lower quality of care. The health care reform debate has helped push Obama’s job approval ratings in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll to new lows. Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news. See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.