Miscellaneous (8/25)

A couple of brief notes today...

Nate Silver gives his criteria for how poll questions on a public option should be worded. To see my earlier postings on how various survey outfits have worded their public-option items, click for July and for August.

Rasmussen has surveyed Massachusetts residents on their support for health care reform plans being advanced in Washington, DC by President Obama and the Democrats. Fifty-three percent of Bay Staters support the Democratic plan for the nation. This finding is potentially important, as Massachusetts has nearly achieved universal coverage (97.4%), albeit with some growing pains. One component of the Massachusetts policy is an individual mandate to purchase health insurance, some variation of which may appear in the developing federal legislation. Granted, Massachusetts is a liberal state, but for its residents to have seen first-hand a universal-coverage program in place for a few years -- warts and all -- and still show majority support for enacting similar legislation nationally says something.