How many times have you heard Barack Obama talk about “the fierce urgency of now”? The president has used the quote, from Martin Luther King Jr., to call for quick action on the war in Iraq, on global warming, on homelessness, on education — you name it.
Now, Obama and his fellow Democrats are trying to convince the nation of the fiercely urgent need to enact national health care reform this very instant.
“We have been waiting for health reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt,” Obama told the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in September. “We cannot wait any longer. ... There comes a time to remember the fierce urgency of right now.”
But the American people simply do not share Obama’s sense of urgency about health care reform. In a new poll, the Gallup organization asked the following question: “If Congress is going to reform the health care system, should Congress deal with health care reform on a gradual basis over several years, or should Congress try to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan this year?” Just 38 percent of those surveyed want reform now, versus a clear majority — 58 percent — who want reform on a gradual basis.
When you break Gallup’s results down by political party, you see that Democrats are the only ones feeling any urgency at all. Fifty-nine percent of Democrats want reform now, but 77 percent of Republicans, and 63 percent of independents, want gradual reform. When it comes to health care reform, there is no fierce urgency of now.
The plain fact is, the public’s top priority lies elsewhere. “The only issue that people have a sense of fierce urgency about right now is the economy and jobs,” says Republican pollster David Winston. “The president is in an uphill battle to try to move the discussion to other topics.”
It’s not that people think health care is unimportant. They just think the economy and jobs are more important — far more important.
Obama knows that; that’s why he tries to link health care and economic recovery, arguing that we can’t have real recovery without health care reform. But people aren’t buying it.
For a recent report to House Republican Leader John Boehner, Winston asked people to judge two different approaches to today’s woes. The choice was between “Republicans who say Congress should be focusing on long-term policies that create jobs, like small business and family tax relief, and controlling federal spending to get our economy moving again,” and “Democrats who say that health insurance reform is key to jump-starting the economy by expanding coverage to the uninsured, lowering costs, and restricting the worst insurance company practices, and we must get it done this year.”
Fifty-four percent of respondents agreed with the Republican approach, versus 40 percent who agreed with the Democratic approach. That’s not because they like Republicans better than Democrats — they don’t — but because they want their leaders to directly address the economy and jobs.
Now, with Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, conceding that unemployment, currently nearing 10 percent, is “likely to remain at severely elevated levels” through all of 2010, the contrast between the public’s deep worries over jobs and the president’s obsession with passing health care reform could not be more striking.
“There’s a concern that the administration is off on the wrong topic,” Winston says. “Americans are saying, ‘What about the economy? What about jobs? Let’s get that taken care of, and then we can address health care.’ “
But Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress aren’t answering. If you want to know why, just go back to that speech to the Congressional Black Caucus. National health care has been the holy grail of the Democratic Party for decades. At this moment, Democrats hold 256 seats in the House and 60 in the Senate, counting the two independents who generally vote with them. Most observers expect them to lose seats in November 2010, and much of next year to be consumed by midterm election campaigning. So there will never be a moment better than now for Obama and his party to achieve their long-cherished goal.
The problem is, the public believes there are more important things to do at this moment. If the president and his party ignore their wishes, the voters’ next fiercely urgent priority might be defeating Democrats at election time.
Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
Columns
Related Photos
Fierce urgency for jobs, not health care
- Columns
-
-
Slowly but Surely
How was your Super Bowl Weekend? Mallorie and I had a full schedule as we attended the “Krewe of Docs” hosted by Oncologics to benefit the American Cancer Society Saturday night. The event was held here in Downtown Laurel and everyone did a great job. The Cowboy Blues Band played the night away and fun was had by all. We got geared up again Sunday night for Super Bowl festivities. After our Saints fell short against the 49ers, I was less than excited about this year’s big game. I picked a favorite anyway and my allegiance fell on the shoulders of Eli and the Giants. It was a great game to watch as a football fan and as always the commercials were pretty great too.
-
Economic Chaos Ahead
Let’s think about the kind of mess that we’re in. Federal 2010 Medicare and Medicaid expenditures totaled $800 billion. The projected annual growth of both programs is about 7 percent. Social Security expenditures are more than $700 billion a year. According to the 2009 Social Security and Medicare trustees reports, by 2030, 49 percent of federal revenues will go for Social Security and Medicare payments. The unfunded liability of both programs is already $106 trillion.
-
Are people really retiring later?
True or false? You may have heard this claim before (or something like it): “Many Americans are being forced to retire later because their savings and investments took a hit in the Great Recession.”
-
Dead Mice Tell No Tales
“What’s that smell?” Sue asked from the front hall. “Is that a dead mouse?”
Sometimes I cannot help myself. “Is it?” I said. “I just thought you were cooking dinner.” Some people cannot take a joke. My shoulder still hurts. -
Around It or Through It
Recently, I had an irritation and wanted to go around it, but that is not how the story goes. I had a huge ulcer in my cheek; I was miserable and asked a doctor to help my pain. Instead of giving me a cure, He told me that I would be fine in a couple of weeks. That was not what I wanted to hear; I was in pain and a couple of weeks sounded like an eternity!
-
Northeast Jones grads doing well in sports world
Justin Cooley was approved Monday night by the Smith County school board as the new head football coach at Raleigh High School.
-
Health Care Trust Fund headed to a zero balance
A new Republican governor and new Republican legislative leadership now face the same task that has confounded their Democratic colleagues when they had the reins of state government – finding a way to pay for Mississippi’s massive Medicaid program.
-
Running as a businessman could be Romney’s curse
Mitt Romney has based nearly his entire presidential campaign on his experience as a businessman. “I spent my career in the private sector,” Romney told Fox News in late November. “I think that’s what the country needs right now.”
-
Reducing state teen pregnancy
In his State of the State address, Gov. Phil Bryant set out as a policy for his administration to tackle the issue of teen pregnancy — a formidable goal.
-
Sexes’ Differences Good for Valentine’s Day
Get this: men and women are different.
Italian researchers made this “groundbreaking” discovery in a recent study. - More Columns Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
