Gallup finds that 49% of Americans say it's a good thing that healthcare reform is now law. Independents are evenly split and 11% of all Americans still give no opinion.
In a political world where getting over that 50% line is everything, proponents and opponents are already engaged in the tug of war to pull those numbers in their direction.
Since the House passed the bill Sunday, many have written about the political winners and losers of the ultimate outcome of this seemingly-endless political battle. For the most part, these assessmentsseem about right, based on the political machinations of Washington and the realities of what's in the bill. But knowing the tug of war for the majority will continue, here's where to track some of supposed winners and losers to see the strength and stability of their gains and losses.
President Obama: We track President Obama's approval rating daily and also report weekly aggregates by demographic group. Obama saw more disapprove than approve of his job performance for the first time last week, before the healthcare bill passed. His daily ratings have since buoyed and the daily average we report Thursday will be the first set collected entirely after the House vote. By next week, we'll have a good sense for whether he got any significant short-term bounce from the healthcare bill's passage and, of course, we're watching his approval rating for the long-term.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress: The impact of their healthcare vote on the November elections looms large for every member of the House and Senate running for re-election this year. We're tracking Americans 2010 election preferences daily and reporting weekly results on our politics page. It's been a very tight race up until now, with Democrats holding a vulnerable edge. These numbers over the next few weeks will provide a good indication of how a vote in Washington translates to votes at home.
Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner: We'll soon be updating our favorable ratings for the major players in the healthcare debate. Pelosi in particular, credited for steely resolve to get the job done, is perceived to be a big winner. Last summer, at the start of the healthcare battle, Pelosi faced a high unfavorable rating and House Minority Leader John Boehner was largely unknown. We'll see how Pelosi's success and Boehner's fiesty opposition moves these numbers.
Labor unions: They fought for healthcare reform and got it, at a time when a record-low 48% of Americans told us they approve of labor unions. Always major political players in their own right, we'll see how Americans see labor unions after their involvement in this high-stakes effort.
The healthcare and pharmaceutical industries: Fewer than 4 in 10 Americans in 2009 told us they had a positive image of either the healthcare industry or the pharmaceutical industry. We'll update these numbers this summer for any sign of an image boost.
Healthcare practitioners: Nurses, pharmacists, and doctors did best in our 2009 survey examining the perceived honesty and ethics of professions. Members of Congress did the worst on this same measure, so we'll see if the gulf between them widens or narrows.
The uninsured: We'll keep tracking the percentage of American adults who tell us they don't have health insurance, as we have since our well-being tracking began in 2008. What's more, since we track the well-being of all Americans daily, we'll be able to measure if the general population sees a boost in things like physical health, emotional health, and basic access as the key healthcare reform provisions begin to take effect.
You: Finally, are you a winner or a loser in this new healthcare world? Whether you are young or old, employed or underemployed, high-income or low-income, insured or uninsured, healthy or sick, our Gallup measures track the politics, economics, and well-being of Americans in the same boat as you. We're constantly looking at our data to uncover which groups are gaining and losing across the many dimensions we track. If you have something you'd like us to investigate and report on, please e-mail us at gallup_news@gallup.com or post a comment here.
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