Author: Bill McInturff

The Iranian hostage crisis, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Lehman Brother’s collapse and the recessions that defined the 1980, 1992 and the 2008 presidential campaigns … these are the signal events that changed and then defined the last 30 years of American politics.

They are joined now by another signal event: The debt ceiling negotiation and its consequences.

Consumer confidence has dropped 15.8 points in two months and is now at its fourth lowest level since the survey began in 1952.

BOTTOM LINE:

As August comes to a close, the debt ceiling negotiation and its aftermath can now be put into an emerging context.

This article was co-authored by Alex Bratty.

If you’ve been following the ins-and-outs of the health care debate and reading some of the recent articles regarding public attitudes towards the proposal for a public plan you might be a little confused about what it is people really want. And rightly so, for there are many numbers floating around out there and some fail to capture the complexity of the issue.

In our recent NBC/WSJ poll* we asked a series of questions on the issue of health care, specifically designed to cover the various angles of the debate.

Sure, when asked the importance of having the choice of both a public plan and a private plan for their health insurance three-quarters (76%) of Americans say this is “extremely” or “quite important.” But, pause for a moment and ask yourself this question: Is this a surprising answer for a country that prides itself on wanting more choices? Of course not. Whether it’s health care or some other issue, in general, Americans favor choice every time.