Philip Klein:
Despite a media narrative that House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare proposal is being rejected by the American people, a new New York Times/CBS poll finds that by a plurality of 47 percent to 41 percent, Americans actually approve of it.
Interestingly, the Times buries the news deep into the story on its own poll:
And slightly more Americans approve than disapprove of a proposal by Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin to change Medicare from a program that pays doctors and hospitals directly for treating older people to one in which the government helps such patients pay for private plans, though that support derived more from Republicans and independents. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll that found 65 percent opposed Mr. Ryan’s plan, suggesting results can vary based on how the question is asked.
There's no doubt that the results vary by word choice, but looking at the questions used in both surveys demosntrates why the Washington Post phrasing generated more opposition.
...
He points out that the
Post question leaves the impression that the plan will apply to current users of Medicare, when in fact it only applies to those 54 and younger. It should also be noted that the Post survey was skewed toward Democrats. Only 22 percent of the
Post survey were Republicans.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
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