There’s a reason why the people who run campaigns are rarely the people responsible for implementing policy. The job of a campaign operative is to work in absolutes – you win or you lose, there’s no gray area. The job of a policy operative, of course, is to look for […] Read more »
AP-NORC Poll: More stressful to care for spouse than mom
You promise “in sickness and in health,” but a new poll shows becoming a caregiver to a frail spouse causes more stress than having to care for mom, dad or even the in-laws. Americans 40 and older say they count on their families to care for them as they age, […] Read more »
The Health Care Reform War Without End
In the 1936 election, one year after President Roosevelt signed the law creating Social Security, his Republican opponent Alf Landon called it a “cruel hoax” and promised to repeal it. Landon won just two states—and, four years later, Republican nominee Wendell Willkie ran on expanding Social Security. … Although the […] Read more »
The uninsured don’t like Obamacare. But seniors didn’t like Medicare Part D — and signed up anyway
Of late, there’ve been a rash of bad poll results for Obamacare (and also a few good ones). The most interesting comes from a New York Times/CBS poll showing that a majority of the uninsured disapprove of the new health law. That’s potentially significant, as it seems logical that the […] Read more »
In Deficit Debate, Public Resists Cuts in Entitlements and Aid to Poor
As President Obama prepares to sign a bipartisan budget agreement that its proponents describe as a modest step toward addressing the deficit, the public shows little appetite for making some of the spending cuts often discussed as part of a broader “grand bargain” on the budget. The latest national survey […] Read more »
What Medicare can teach us about the future of Obamacare
Congressional Republicans have consistently voiced their determination to delay implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). … Conservative opposition to the ACA is partly driven by fears that, once fully implemented, the program will prove popular and thus be difficult to roll back. My new research suggests […] Read more »