The first decent poll I’ve seen on the Medicare bill is out from Harris, and the seniors hate it. No one under 40 has a clue about the bill (really!) but those over 65:
–are disappointed it passed by 51% to 16%
–disapprove of the discount drug card provision 45% to 44%
–disapprove of allowing private plans to compete with Medicare 54% to 30%
–disapprove of the ban on Canadian imports by a modest 85% to 12%

They only just approve of the drug benefit itself by 48% to 44%! These are horrible numbers by any interpretation and perhaps may have an impact in the wider scheme of things.

The Republicans (62-3%) get the blame over the Democrats (57%).  So my memo to the Democrat strategists (if they can find one) is to blame the Republicans for banning cheap drugs from Canada and selling Medicare to those evil HMOs, and perhaps they should suggest that Bushco has the same thing planned for social security.  The Donkey faithful must see Florida and Pennsylvania veering into the D column any time now……