The politics of Medicare, made simple

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-politics-of-medicare-made-simple/2012/09/11/ed91987c-fc27-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_blog.html

The politics of Medicare, made simple
By Greg Sargent


snip//

And there you have it. The Romney/Ryan game plan all along has been about painting Obama as the true threat to Medicare and themselves as its true defenders, in order to obscure the true nature of their ideological differences with Obama over the program’s future. After all, what they have actually proposed is deeply unpopular. And they have employed the suggestion that Obama is taking hard earned benefits away from seniors to expand health care to other people, because majorities do believe the law is all about helping the poor, and not helping them.

But here’s the funny thing: When Obama’s policy is described to Americans, majorities support it. The poll asked whether it was a “good use” of $716 billion in Medicare “savings” to expand coverage for the poor and working class. Fifty-six percent said Yes.

Along these lines, Medicare may play a larger role in the debates than people expect. We got a preview of this during Obama’s convention speech, when he said: “Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care, not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more...this is the choice we now face.” A debate setting could provide the opportunity to draw out the true nature of this difference; Obama will seek to hold Romney accountable for the proposal he actually supports. Of course, Obama will also feel pressure to be specific about the program’s future; we’ll see how he handles that.

One other National Journal finding: Far more trust Obama and Congressional Dems on Medicare (54 percent) than trust Romney and Congressional Republicans (31). The question, admittedly, ties Romney to the unpopular Congressional GOP on the issue. Of course, that’s what Obama will try to do at the debates, with Paul Ryan as Exhibit A.