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Rasmussen's robo-poll, which discerned a big bounce in Obama's favor on health care after his speech last week--a bounce that soon dissipated--now reports opposition to health care reform has risen to a new high of 55%, with only 42% in favor. Yikes. ... P.S.: It's possible that Sunday's numbers were just mysteriously awful for Obama, dragging down the two-day average. But there was no equivalent drop that day in Obama's overall approval rating. ... Sorry, Nate.** ... .P.P.S.: Here's a more comprehensive Pollster chart of various health care surveys. Not quite as bleak, but the red line of opposition trending ineluctably upward is not what you would want to see if you were in the White House. ... 9/18 Update: Pollster says the red line's alarming trajectory is the product of a "mysterious bug," and publishes more elaborate charts here. They're less grim but aren't auspicious--and since then, Rasmussen opposition has reached a new high of 56%.
**--Nate Silver in a 9/14 post:
The real question, of course, is not whether there's been a bounce, but how long-lasting its effects might be. Bounces usually dissipate. ...[snip] ... I'm not yet prepared to render a prediction on this subject, although for a variety of reasons -- basically, the GOP having used up a lot of its firepower coupled with Obama having underachieved his overall approval ratings on health care reform -- I think the bounce (if there is one) is more likely to have "oomph" than it usually does.
Lucky that wasn't a prediction! ... 1:10 A.M.
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The MSM Plot Against Obama Continues: I've run into a surprising number of people who don't know that Obama called Kanye West a "jackass." Apparently the press' reluctance to publicize an off-the-record remark has worked to inhibit dissemination of what otherwise would be a juicy little bit of news. (Try to find a mention in the print Washington Post, for example.) But everybody's heard about Jimmy Carter saying that an "overwhelming portion" of animosity to Obama stems from "racism." ... Hmm. The suppressed Kanye remark helps Obama. The heavily publicized Carter remark hurts Obama. Coincidence? Or yet more evidence, if any was needed, of the secret Mainstream Media plot to sabotage the President at this crucial time? ... 1:47 A.M.
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National Public Radio fights back against the old accusation that if you scratch its surface you'll find a bunch of government-subsidized leftists. From the Sept. 11 "All Things Considered":
MELISSA BLOCK, host: This week, a Web site called FiLife.com launched a Twitter contest to reduce policy on how to fix health care to a mere three words. Some entries so far...
ROBERT SIEGEL, host: Promote Healthy Living and Eat an Apple are two examples.
[snip]
SIEGEL: Our staff made up some three-word policy proclamations: Doctors Make Less and Cuban Health Care. ...
[E.A.] 6:23 P.M.
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Joe Wilson: Controlled implosion? ... P.S.: And where was Kanye West that evening, I ask you? ... 6:24 P.M.
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