New Health Care Bill Passes Congress

The House of Representatives passed the new health care bill Sunday evening. The billed carried 219-212 with all Republicans opposing and 34 Democrats passing on the bill as is.

Yes We Did!

The bill climbed back after being close to dead for 2 months. If any lesson is to be learned, it is that Barrack Obama has a way of winning battles, if that lesson hadn’t already been learned in last years primary.

The bill has now been sent to the Senate, where it is anticipated that Democrats will seek to pass the bill quickly, even if that means suspending the rules, i.e. the filibuster.

It is suspected that the legislation will help to insure 35 million uninsured Americans. Though insurance will now be required to some who haven’t had it before, there are also subsidies for families making under 85,000 a year to pay the premiums.

In related news, Bob Stupak spoke during debates about the sufficiency of the legislation in preventing federal funding of abortion. As he was speaking, shouts of “baby killer” could be heard coming from the Republican side of the chamber. More indignant outbursts from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Yeah!

Polls: America, Obama, Dems Less Respected ?

The Washington Times reports The Democracy Corps just released a study that shows that the United States is less respected than it was a few years ago. The poll also reportedly shows that Obama and Democrats are favored less than Republicans on issues of national security.

However, the polls have the President’s approval ratings high in many areas of national security, higher than his overall approval ratings. Nonetheless, there is apparently some concern with how other areas are being handled.

The study showed the following:

While his overall approval rating stands at 47 percent (down 1 point from Democracy Corps’ January survey), more than half of all likely voters approve of the president’s handling of Afghanistan (58 percent), national security (57 percent), “leading America’s military” (57 percent), “improving America’s standing in the world” (55 percent), fighting terrorism (54 percent), and Iraq (54 percent). These are strong figures at a time when America is fighting two wars abroad and continuing to face an active terrorist threat.

The poll certainly shows that most Americans think Obama is doing a better job on national security than Bush did.

Public opinion is so fickle, and can be swayed by so many nuanced factors. The study showed that fears about the economy are leading to negative evaluations of our standing in the world, and Obama’s job approval.

Let us not forget that public opinion and objective analysis are rarely one in the same. After all, how can the American people make a fair observation about national security when only 21% know who Robert Gates is.?