Who Americans Trust on Health Care Policy
As Democrats tried to rustle up support for their plan, a new Gallup Poll found that just half of the nation is confident Obama is recommending the right policies for revamping the health care system. Fewer Americans, 37%, had confidence in Democratic lawmakers, and only about a third expressed confidence in Republicans.
For Republicans, this is bad news but not really unexpected; the public hasn't trusted the GOP on health care in recent memory, and the party's strategy was primarily to block the Democrats' plans, not to bolster support for their own. For Obama, this is not exactly terrible news, but it's not good either, as it suggests that the process has resulted in an overall loss of credibility. In its analysis of the poll, Gallup reports that overall "confidence levels are lower than those measured in June, suggesting that the ongoing healthcare reform debate has taken a toll on the credibility of the politicians involved."