So Much for the Bounce

Last night Paul noted the modest impact that President Obama’s televised speech and related efforts to rally support for the Democrats’ health care plan was having, as measured by the Washington Post/ABC News poll. The Rasmussen survey, on the other hand, did measure a relatively significant increase in support for the plan among likely voters. As of a few days ago, support for the plan surpassed 50 percent, 51-46, for the first time in a long while.
Now, though, that bounce has dissipated. In Rasmussen’s most recent polling, out this morning, support has fallen back to pre-speech levels with 45 percent supporting the plan and 52 percent opposing it.
This shouldn’t be too surprising. Health care is a topic that people care deeply about, and a few Presidential speeches ought not have a big impact. (Rasmussen found that increasing support for the plan following the speech came almost exclusively from Democrats.) These data also suggest that the Democrats’ strategy of diverting attention away from the plan itself and trying to make the plans’ opponents–Joe Wilson, for example, and anti-Obama protesters–the issue, has failed. That, too, shouldn’t be surprising.