The best judge of public opinion on health care reform legislation (apart from November election results) will be trend lines of the aggregate of opinion polling over time. But politicos will be watching evolving numbers avidly.
Here’s a handy website that compiles poll data from all over. It includes the recent Gallup finding that showed a shift in opinion to support of the legislation after passage.
It also includes polling March 19-22 for Bloomberg, in which a day’s worth of four days of polling was done after passage late March 21. It broke down 38 in favor, 50 opposed.
But when you break that audience down on specific questions, what you find is an audience that favored much of what the health legislation stands for.
64 percent said government has a role in access to health care
51-40 they said the cost of doing nothing would be greater than the cost of the proposed legislation.
79 percent did NOT think the system is fine the way it is.
53-47 they favored doing something now rather than later.
There were trouble spots. Respondents said, 48-43, legislation helped others, but not them. They said, 53-42, that the overhaul amounted to a government takeover. (Regrettably, that’s not true.)