Zogby: Voters' "hearts" are with the Dems on health care reform

The results of extended campaigns to sway public opinion such as Obama's advocacy for comprehensive health care reform from the day after the Massachusetts election forward can take a long time to come into focus. But since mid-February -- a few days after Obama proposed the health care summit -- the polling gap between those who say they're opposed to the Democrats' health care reform effort and those in favor has narrowed steadily to a virtual dead heat at present.

And there are interesting undercurrents. Zogby polled just before the summit and then a week after and did not found no movement in the percentages of people who said they were for or against Obama's plan. But they did find two surprises. Zogby, sharing a byline in today's FT with Bush Administration assistant secretary of defense for health affairs S. Ward Cascells, reports:

First, we were surprised to find Americans exactly evenly split between Mr Obama’s plan and that of the Republicans. Well aware that the way the question is asked can determine the result, in our surveys just before and after the summit, we used Mr Obama’s name and listed the main provisions of both plans. In previous surveys we had asked respondents to choose between the House or Senate Democrats’ plan and no bill, or starting over, and they always preferred no bill, or starting over. [snip]