Senate Dems' Game Plan on Health Care

Ben Smith at Politico has got his paws on an interesting memo from David Binder, one of the guys who ran President Obama's polling and focus groups for his campaign. Binder conducted focus groups in Arizona to gauge voter reaction to Obama's address to Congress Wednesday night. Here's what Binder found:

The most strongly rated passages of the President's speech (with average ratings of 80 or above) break into three areas: 1) specific goals of reform (i.e. the specifics of the insurance industry reforms, increasing insurance industry accountability, and ensuring choice and competition); 2) the need for change now (i.e. the unacceptability of the status quo and that the time for bickering is over); and 3) the relationship between health care reform and American values.

Expect to see congressional Democrats mimicking these points in days to come. Undoubtedly point two will be of particular interest. Democrats will be looking to create a sense of urgency around the bill in September. None of them wants health care to remain in the headlines through the holiday season. And if it's true that voters broadly appreciate the president's message that the bickering and games need to stop, that gives Senate Democrats some cover to move forward without significant Republican support. The reason? On Wednesday, Obama essentially placed the onus for bipartisanship in the Senate on Republicans. As I wrote yesterday, he gave them a significant concession in pledging to tackle medical-malpractice issues. He also made clear that, although he's intellectually committed to the idea of a public option, he's not prepared to sacrifice his entire agenda for it. "It is only one part of my plan, and shouldn't be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles," he said. Liberal Senate Democrats haven't clung to the public option with the same fierceness as their House counterparts have, so when it comes to the Senate, he's referring to Republicans. If Binder's focus groups accurately reflect a broad desire for the bickering to end, then that's a green light for Harry Reid and Max Baucus.