Open-ended questions on a number of surveys find the elderly very worried that they will not be able to get quality-of-life treatments under the Obama program, such as hip or knee replacements. Others worry that the program will encourage them to give up when facing serious illness and enter hospices to minimize costs to the government.
The Clintons lost the elections of 1994 primarily because of the tax increases the Democratic Congress passed. Health-care reform was not nearly as important in their defeat as the tax hikes. But in the elections of 2010, the elderly are likely to respond harshly to the health-care reforms and, increasingly, may vote Republican as a result.
For his part, Obama faces a tough dilemma. The more he enlists his personal popularity in his campaign for health-care reform, the more his job approval ratings will drop -- as they have recently. And the lower these ratings go, the less likely he is to be able to persuade his party to pass his health-care reforms.
These survey results will come as no surprise to congressmen and senators who go home in August and take soundings in their districts. The opposition of their elderly constituents to the plans making their way through Congress will be obvious. And when they feel the heat, they will hopefully see the light.
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
Dick Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of
2010: Take Back America. To get all of Dick Morris’s and Eileen McGann’s columns for free by email, go to
www.dickmorris.com