Don’t tell me that it’s not possible to change the mind of the public. From HotAir.com:
Rarely outside of polls about gay marriage or marijuana legalization do you see a trend line like this. Good work, O.
How much of that is a reaction to Obama and his pet boondoggle specifically and how much is a product of other forces? The first thing that jumps out is the fact that most of the gains here were made before O was sworn in. The number who say UHC isn’t a federal responsibility bounces from a 13-year low in 2006 to rough parity with traditional levels in 2007 to a new high in 2008 and then actually overtakes the number who say it is a federal responsibility in very late 2008, on the eve of the inauguration. But that doesn’t mean it has nothing to do with O. On the contrary, I think the reason interest picked up in 2007 was because Obama and Hillary were slugging it out over health-care reform in debate after debate, which showed Republicans that the long-dormant liberal initiative to remake the system was coming back with a vengeance in 2009 if the Democratic nominee won the election. What you’re seeing here, in other words, is conservative alarm rising over the prospect of a looming battle — with good reason, as it turned out.
