Rasmussen Reports

« If it's in the news it's in our polls. «

« Rasmussen produces some of the most accurate and reliable polls in the country today. »

-Larry Sabato, University of Virginia

« Rasmussen, an organization with fast zeitgeist reflexes.... «

-The Politico

« If it's in the news it's in our polls. «

« The best place to look for polls that are spot on is RasmussenReports.com «

-Michael Barone, The Washington Examiner`

« If you really want to know what people in America think, you can't find a better place to look than Rasmussen Reports «

-Susan Estrich

« If you have a choice between Rasmussen and, say, the prestigious N.Y.Times, go with Rasmussen! »

-Mickey Kaus, Slate Magazine
Premium MembershipLoginSignup
Search
Sign up for free daily updates
Advertisement
Advertisement

63% Support Affordable Health Care for ‘Every Single American’
Email a Friend Email to a Friend
Advertisement

Sixty-three percent (63%) of U.S. voters agree with President Obama that “we must make it a priority to give every single American quality affordable health care.”

Just 29% disagree with the statement the president made recently when he released his proposed $3.6 trillion budget, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Rasmussen Reports tested voter reaction to this statement and others used this past weekend as part of a nationwide canvass to build support for the president’s economic agenda.

Earlier surveys have found that just 29% of Americans give the U.S. system of health care good or excellent ratings. Roughly half believe that free health care should be provided to all Americans.

Sixty-four percent (64%) also agree with Obama when he said, “A budget is more than simply numbers. It is a test for our commitment to making America what it was always meant to be, a place where all things are possible for all people.” These positive statements compete with the fact that 75% are concerned that the President’s budget will generate too much government spending. Combined, the positive goals and the spending concern help explain why the public is evenly divided about supporting the President’s budget.

Voters are also closely divided over a statement about the proposed budget that “the bold plan President Obama has set forth is not just a game between two political parties. It’s the change that Americans across the country demanded this past election.” Forty-nine percent (49%) agree, while 40% disagree.

The statement was made by a leader of Organizing for America (OFA), the grassroots organization once know as Obama for America which has now shifted into a full-time support group for the administration’s agenda.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls.) Rasmussen Reports updates also available on Twitter.

The president’s budget is facing growing opposition in Congress, even from Democrats, over its high level of new spending. It also has been hurt by the disclosure last Friday that its deficit projections for the next 10 years are off by $2.3 trillion. The public is similarly divided on the budget.

Over the weekend, OFA canvassers hoped to knock on one million doors and gather signatures in public places in all 50 states for a pledge in support of the president’s economic agenda.

Just five percent (5%) of voters said someone knocked on their door this weekend asking for their support of Obama’s plan. Overall, 2% of voters said they signed a pledge supporting the president’s economic plan, gave an e-mail address or in some other way agreed to support Obama’s future agenda.

These findings gibe with news reports in which lawmakers from across the country said they received little or no feedback from OFA’s weekend efforts.

The partisan divide over the statements related to the budget is sizable. Ninety percent (90%) of Democrats agree that it must be a national priority to provide affordable health car to all Americans, a view shared by 37% of Republicans and 55% of voters not affiliated with either major party.

Of the four priorities Obama outlined last month in an address to Congress, Democrats say health care reform is the most important, while Republicans and unaffiliated voters put greater emphasis on deficit reduction.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of Democratic voters believe a budget is a commitment to making America a place where all things are possible for all people. Smaller majorities of Republicans (54%) and unaffiliated voters (55%) agree.

Fifty percent (50%) of voters now worry that the government will do too much in reacting to the nation’s economic problems rather than not enough. That’s a seven-point jump from a month ago.

As for the characterization of Obama’s economic plan as the change America demanded in the past election, not surprisingly 76% of Democrats agree, while 69% of Republicans disagree. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided on the question.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free)… let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.

The Rasmussen Reports Election Edge™ Premium Service offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage available anywhere.

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
March 22-23, 2009

Do you agree or disagree that “we must make it a priority to give every single American quality affordable health care.”

Agree

63%

Disagree

29%

Not sure

7%

TOP STORIES

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls

Support for Congressional Health Care Proposal Up to 47%, 49% Opposed

Voters’ Opinions of Congressional Leaders Remain Steady

Voters Continue to See Deficit Reduction as Top Priority

To Create Jobs, Voters Say Cut Taxes and Stop Spending

Brown Ensnared in His Own Tapegate Trap By Debra J. Saunders

Republicans Maintain Steady Lead on Generic Ballot

Democrats & Unaffiliateds More Likely To Be Unemployed Than Republicans

42% Rate Geithner’s Performance As Poor

Advertisement