This Time, It's Personal

The lede of this weekend's NYT story on its health care poll suggests Americans will embrace a public option and are willing to pay more for it. But the deeper you dig into their numbers, the more you see the pitfalls ahead for Dems and Pres. Obama.

-- The poll also explains why Obama is pitching his plan on prime time 6/24. He needs to engage that bully pulpit. Asked who they trusted to "make the right decisions" on the issue, Obama isn't viewed as much more trustworthy than Congress (39% to 35%). Obama's bid to sell reform as way to fix the economy isn't working so well either. Fifty-seven percent thought a public plan would either hurt or have no effect on the economy.

-- Ultimately, though, the biggest problem w/trying to reform health care is that people are much more satisfied w/their own care than with the country overall. When they're asked to pay a bit more to help balance this inequity, they traditionally have supported tax increases (in '93 it was 61%, today it's 57%). But when the possibility is raised that one's own care could be affected, well, folks are less charitable. Sixty-eight percent said they'd be concerned that a public plan would limit access to tests and treatments.

-- In health care, the personal is political. This is why change can come to health care only when Americans aren't worried that change (the bad kind) could happen to them.