You Kids Get Off My Lawn, Part 2

A new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows Americans approve of the President's proposals for health care reform 50-45%. The interesting news is that older people don't want young people to have health care.

"Obama's plan is most popular among younger Americans and least popular among senior citizens," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said. "A majority of Americans over the age of 50 oppose Obama's plan; a majority of those under 50 support it."

The poll's release comes as lawmakers go back to their home districts and states for summer recess. The House of Representatives is already on break and the Senate heads home at the end of the week.

Some lawmakers are holding town hall meetings or other public forums on health care reform over the next few weeks, where voters will get a chance to speak out about the various proposals for change. The poll indicates that seven in 10 Americans say they're very or somewhat likely to attend such events.

"Nearly half of those who oppose the Obama plan say they are more likely to attend town hall meetings to express their views on health care; only 37 percent of those who support Obama's plan are very likely to attend a public forum on that issue," Holland said.

The poll indicates that only three in 10 of all Americans think the president's health care proposals will help their families. Another 44 percent feel they won't benefit but that other families will be helped by the president's plans, and one in five say no one will be helped.

So, the haters are more motivated to disrupt town halls, but even people who don't like the plan admit it will benefit themselves or others. 74% think at least some Americans will gain from the plan, and I think that's the path the Democrats need to take to sell this. It's good for the country, even if you don't personally like it. Other highlights from the full poll:

• Two versions of a question about it being necessary to make "major structural changes" to health care, both questions garnered about three-fourths of Americans saying yes.
• People were evenly split on who they wanted to have to make the tough decisions about who gets health care, 40% say insurance companies, 40% say the government, 7% say they both should.
  

Still, that's basically the "Congress sucks/My Congressperson is great" paradigm. People like their own health care plan, but think that the system as a whole needs major changes. It's also good to see that younger Americans are more open to health care reform. It means eventually it will happen, just a question of when. Old people hate change.

I talked about this back on Friday, too.

Why should senior citizens want health care for everyone else? There's really nothing in it for them. If you assume there's a finite number of doctors in America (there is) and a finite number of hospital beds (there is) and the major thing keeping people out of using those resources is cost, if you reduce that barrier so that more of those resources are being used, then while that's great for people who don't have health care, it's not so great for the people already getting it.

So yes, the GOP has a point in trying to terrorize seniors and older boomers to try to kill the plan. They're much more likely to vote than younger Americans, too.

Still, I feel a bit better about the plan's chances. The Dems can sell a 50-50 proposition over the GOP right now.