Obama Ain't Got That Swing

Swingers: Nothing Is Better Than Something

Pollster Scott Rasmussen released findings of a recent phone survey on Saturday that shows that by a margin of 54% to 35% more Americans now say passing nothing would be better than the health-care package being debated in Congress.

Mr. Rasmussen is careful to note that his survey doesn't mean Americans are against any kind of reform, but what's ominous for Democrats is that voters not affiliated with either party -- often called swing voters -- are overwhelmingly opposed to ObamaCare. Only 23% want Congress to pass the Obama-backed bill; 66% would prefer that their representatives in Washington do nothing.

That adds up to trouble for President Obama and explains why moderate Democrats such as Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia are now holding the president at arm's length. Mr. Boucher has represented a rural district in the southwestern part of the state since 1982 and has been getting an earful from constituents as well as hospital administrators in his district about health-care reform.

As a result, Mr. Boucher voted against the Democratic bill in committee, and when Mr. Obama dropped by a Kroger's grocery store in Bristol in his district late last month, Mr. Boucher was nowhere to be seen. He told reporters that if the legislation moving through the House becomes law, it would effectively cut off access to care for many of his voters. "If we are going to have a government plan, it cannot be based on Medicare [reimbursement] rates," he said recently. "And here's why: If that were to happen, the hospitals in the district I represent would be placed at financial risk, and the financial stability of health-care providers, apart from hospitals, would also be placed at financial risk."

Undeterred, the president and his allies are pressing Mr. Boucher to come around. A newly created group called Health Care for America Now -- consisting of SEIU, AFSCME, the AFL-CIO and others -- is running ads this week gently encouraging the Virginia congressman and other moderate Democrats to support the president's agenda. President Obama himself took an opportunity to entice the congressman back into the fold, reminding his Virginia audience that Mr. Boucher was an early supporter of his campaign and that Mr. Obama's first stop after capturing the nomination was in Bristol. "This is where change began," he told the crowd, ". . . I love Rick Boucher."

-- Brendan Miniter