CBS/NYT Poll: Public Conflicted About Health Care
A new CBS/New York Times poll finds the public feeling conflicted about health care reform. On the one hand 66% of adults favor a public options, and 55% say the government should guarantee health coverage for all Americans. On the other hand, 56% are very concerned that businesses would cut jobs if government acts to cover all Americans, and a 45% plurality are very concerned that their own taxes would go up.
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will meet with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines, at 3 p.m. ET. He will meet with Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner at 4 p.m. ET, and with Vice President Biden at 4:30 p.m. Then at 6 p.m. ET, he will meet outside the Oval Office with Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley and Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr, for that round of beer that was announced last week.
NBC/WSJ Poll Also Paints Murky Picture On Health Care
A new NBC/Wall St. Journal poll finds President Obama’s approval rating on health care is only 41%, with 46% disapproving. There is also conflicting information here: 50% approve of raising taxes on the wealthy in order to expand health insurance coverage, to only 44% against. But on the other hand, only 36% say Obama’s current health care plan is a good idea, to 42% calling it a bad idea.
Rove: Obama Trying To Sell His Policies Through Fear
In his latest column in the Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove accuses President Obama of “trying to sell his health-care proposals on fear.” Rove warns: “This is not a healthy way to wage a policy debate. It also risks making the president look desperate at a time when his proposals are looking increasingly too expensive for Americans to accept.
Freshman House Dems Brace For Attacks During Recess
Roll Call reports that freshman House Democrats are preparing to use the August recess to explain controversial proposals such as the health care and climate change bills to constituents — and to try to take back the debate from Republican attacks. “I think more often than we would like, the opposition has succeeded in framing the issues for us,” said freshman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). “There’s a real frustration about that. Why are we letting them do that? Why aren’t we more aggressively fighting back?”
Hillary’s Campaign Committee Now Debt-Free
The New York Daily News reports that Hillary Clinton’s dormant presidential campaign committee is now debt-free, after having ended the 2008 primary season deeply in the red. Indeed, she is now $1 million in the black, and her Senate committee has $2.1 million in the bank, apparently raising the possibility that she could eventually run for president again at a later date.
Rudy: Birthers Hurt GOP More Than The Other Side
In an interview with CNN, Rudy Giuliani laughed off the Birthers. “We’ve got better things to do than that.” Rudy added: “I’ve actually seen a birth certificate that kind of satisfies me that he was born in the United States. I don’t get the issue. I don’t know why they’re pushing it as far as they are … To pick false issues like that hurts us more than it hurts the other side.”
