"Big Number Still Undecided About Health Care On Eve Of Obama’s Speech"

Greg Sargent:

One thing that’s gotten a bit lost in all the chatter about how dreadful August was for Obama and Dems is that large numbers still remain undecided about whether they back the health care reform proposal — underscoring that this fight is far from over and that September may prove the decisive month.

That’s the real news in this new Gallup poll out this morning. It finds that for all the hoopla about the success of the town hall hooliganism, voters remain basically deadlocked over the proposal, with a quarter of voters saying they still have “no opinion” on whether they want their member of Congress to vote for it.

That’s not all: It also finds that a surprising 28% of independents are undecided, too. The independent vote, of course, is one of the key battlegrounds of the health care wars. While independents are tilting against the plan right now, the large bloc of undecideds suggests there’s plenty of room to make up ground.

The persistently high number of undecideds is yet another sign that Obama’s failure to forcefully lay down his bottom line on health care early on may have been a disastrous mistake. On the other hand, it may mean that many want to hear more from the president before making up their minds, perhaps giving Obama a chance to turn things around. It’s another reminder that the stakes of his big speech tomorrow just couldn’t be higher.

Howie P.S.: The view from inside the Beltway is a little different: "Deeply Divided House Democrats Return to Work -- and the Same Set of Problems" (WaPo).Both articles contain the following observation: Obama needs to lay down what he is FOR. Aravosis says "It doesn't matter if a public option is in Obama's plan, a veto threat is all that matters."