| By Rao - Apr 2nd, 2007 at 10:11 am EDT |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
Why release a health care plan when your supporters can imagine one for you? The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released an opinion poll on health care, asking respondents which of the 2008 presidential candidates, regardless of party, best represents their views on the issue. The results were surprising: Hillary Clinton took the lead with 15%, flanked by Barack Obama with 5%, and followed by the rest of the pack (Rudy Giuliani at 3%, John McCain and John Edwards at 2%).
Its easy to rationalize Clinton's lead -- her claim to national fame, remember, was her 1990's health care reform proposal -- but Obama's support is surprising. For starters, Obama doesn't have a health care plan, so its unclear what five percent of the population is thinking. He even places 4th among Republican voters, and doubles Edwards in the Democratic field. What's going on here?
My first reaction was to question the validity of the poll; when asked a difficult question, respondents will often just name the candidate they know of or support. But even that doesn't explain why Obama's nonexistent health care policy comes in second place -- According to a recent Time poll, 31% of Americans don't know very much about, just know the name of, or have never heard of Barack Obama. The respective numbers are lower for Giuliani (16%), McCain (20%), and Edwards (25%) -- meaning Obama actually overcame a deficit in name recognition. And in terms of general support, Obama tied McCain and Edwards with 48% of the population saying they would support him in the general election, while Guiliani actually scored 2% higher. Obama has the least name recognition and public support of the four candidates, yet he somehow comes out on top on the issue health care. Does the public know something we don't know?
My theory is that, to five percent of the population, the fact that Obama does not have a health care plan is insignificant to their support of it. They know him so well from his social networking site and his resemblance to the messiah that they are sure he represents their views on health care. That John Edwards has made the issue a central part of his campaign or that the press has routinely criticized Obama for his lack of a health care plan does nothing to change their minds -- the public has Obamamania, and reality only gets in the way.
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For starters: Link
Oh yeah, and this little ditty: Link
Perhaps they're not searching for halos behind his head - they've simply heard his thoughts on the issue and they agree with him.
Just because his campaign website talks about his general support for universal health care does not mean he has a detailed health care plan -- Edwards, Richardson, and Clinton all surpass him greatly when it comes to support for specific policy proposals. Support for universal health care seems to be par for the course in the Democratic primary field, and to claim that Obama's support of it is somehow different from the more detailed proposals of his competitors is disingenous at best.
And don't mistake this post for an argument against Obama's health care plan -- I may well support it in the future, but, as of now, he hasn't proposed anything concrete enough for people to discuss.
"Nine million children lack health insurance coverage in America. As a state senator, Barack Obama sponsored and helped pass legislation that extends and expands Illinois' KidCare program to provide coverage for an additional 20,000 children and 65,000 more Illinois adults."
That's right, he's running for President on his record as a STATE SENATOR.
But further, here's why people like his health care plan: He's having people write it for him! His website has a new feature Link that allows people to submit their ideas about health care. What a plan!