The Case For Specifics

The latest NBC/WSJ poll shows the President's numbers on health care are falling in a general sense, but the more specific pollsters were about the Democrats' health care plan, the more people liked it:

As Congress works on its legislation and as Obama campaigns to get an overhaul enacted, 42 percent now say that the president’s plan is a bad idea, which is a 10-point increase since last month. Thirty-six percent say it’s a good idea.

In addition, 39 percent — a plurality — believe that Obama’s plan would result in the quality of their health care getting worse. That’s 15-point jump since April.

And just 41 percent approve of the president’s job on health care, which is nearly identical to Bill Clinton’s scores from 1994, when he failed to get Congress to pass health care reform.

But the poll — which was taken of 1,011 adults from July 17-20, and which has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points — also reveals a clear split between those who have private health insurance and those who don’t.

Americans who have private health insurance disapprove of Obama’s job on health care by a 51-38 percent margin. Those who lack insurance, however, approve of his job, 52-29 percent.

Also, when read the specifics of his goals for health care — like requiring insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions, providing low-income families with subsidies to help them afford insurance, and raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for the subsidies — 56 percent say they support Obama’s plan. Only 38 percent oppose.

Hart, the Democratic pollster, thinks the Obama White House might see that finding as a silver lining in this survey. According to him, it means, “If I can get my message out, I am going to be there.”

That's a huge jump: a +18 margin for specific goals as opposed to -6 for a general plan. That means the better the Democrats can work out the details and get the message out that "this is what the plan will contain", people will listen.

Right now there are just a bunch of nebulous plans with big dollar figures attached rather than focusing on the "what's in it for me?" part of the benefit. People need to be told what they are going to get for this money. That's what the Democrats are going to have to do in August, get the message out and more importantly the President himself has to draw some big, thick lines in the sand and say "Our health care reform plan will have X, Y, and Z."

Americans want specifics. Right now, the GOP is filling in what they say are the specifics, scaring people into "hating the government plan", attacking "government euthanasia" and other distortions. It's because the Dems won't commit to specifics yet.

The battle here isn't at 50,000 feet, it's at ground level. People want to know how this will affect them personally. They are ready to listen to specifics, guys. Let's see some leadership from the top.