"Why is Obama losing the battle for public opinion on health care? Can he turn it around and, if so, how?" That's the question posed by Fred Barbash, editor of the "Arena" section of Politico.
And here's what I contributed:
Obamacare is in trouble for the same reason that Hillarycare ran into trouble--because people in Washington DC repeatedly and relentlessly mistake “health care policy” for actual health.
To most Americans, health is just that--the sum total of their medicine, their diet and exercise, and their general well-being. To these ordinary folks, “health care policy” is abstract and intimidating at best, scary and sci-fi-y at worst.
But Washingtonians thrive on “health care policy”; they revel in the complexities and ideologies that are so off-putting to most Americans. Perpetually funded by the government, corporations, and various non-profits, Washington wonks never seem to notice that the public isn’t with them--until it’s too late.
If people here want to regain the confidence of people beyond the Beltway, a new strategy is needed--a Serious Medicine Strategy. That would be popular everywhere.
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