There are a couple of encouraging polls out this week on Social Security privatization, one of which offers good news, the other really good news.
First up is the latest from USA Today, which found public support for Bush’s handling of Social Security faltering badly.
Only one in three Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of Social Security, his lowest rating on the issue since he took office.
Four years ago, 49% approved of Bush’s approach to Social Security. A month ago, it was down to 43%. Now, it’s 35%. The more the public hears Bush’s sales pitch, the less they buy it.
The same poll also showed right-wing attempts to smear Dems and the AARP haven’t been particularly successful.
The poll showed higher public approval for AARP, the 35-million-member retiree organization that is leading the opposition to Bush’s plan, than for the president. Bush’s favorable rating was 56%, compared with 75% for AARP. And 47% of Americans said they trust the Democrats more to deal with the issue of Social Security, a 10-point advantage over Republicans.
But even more interesting is an Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs poll, which for some reason was released quietly over the weekend.
There’s the generic data that points to weak support for Bush’s scheme (56% disapprove of Bush’s handling of Social Security, Democrats enjoy a comfortable lead on which party the public trusts more on the issue, etc.), but there was one question that seemed particularly important.
Half of respondents were asked for their opinion when told President Bush has proposed private accounts in conjunction with lower guaranteed benefits. The other half weren’t told about Bush at all — only that “some people” have proposed such a plan.
Respondents who were asked about Bush’s approach rejected the idea — 39% support, 55% oppose. But when Bush was left out of it, support went up quite a bit — 45% support, 51% oppose.
In other words, more people are opposed to Bush’s plan when told that it’s Bush’s plan. Opponents have been so successful in convincing people that the president is wrong on this issue that the public rejects the plan tied to the White House out of hand. They hear “President Bush has proposed…” and immediately know that it’s the plan they don’t like.
Ironically, the same thing happened with polling 10 years ago with Clinton and health care. When Americans were told about a variety of reform ideas, without identifying which parties were tied to which plans, poll respondents almost always support Clinton’s approach. But when Clinton’s name was connected to his own health care plan, supported dropped. The public had been convinced that Clinton was wrong — even when they thought Clinton’s plan was right.
It’s happening again.