By RAGHAVAN MAYUR Investors Business Daily
President Obama has yet to sell health care reform convincingly to Americans. The public is skeptical about whether an overhaul of the health system is in its best interests. One indicator of the skepticism is the poor grade Americans give the president for his handling of the issue.
In the latest IBD/TIPP Poll conducted Aug. 4 to 8,the president gets a C- for his handling of health care policy. Democrats give him a B-,Republicans give him a D and Independents a C-.
Though the president is still popular with high approval ratings,his handling of health care policy has hurt. The president scored a positive 57.6 in August on the IBD/TIPP Presidential Leadership Index,slipping a bit from 58.1 in July. But 37% give him an A or B for his handling of health care policy,while 60% give him a C or below.
Independents,a constituency the president needs,who give Obama a GPA of 1.54 on the issue — a grade below C — are closer to Republicans who give him a failing GPA of 0.85 than to Democrats with a GPA of 2.67.