The problem with this approach

The above is a photo I took while waiting, vainly, in line for Martin Heinrich's town hall meeting on August 22 here in Albuquerque.

However....
CBS Poll (released September 1):
Support for the so-called “public option” -- a government-administered health insurance plan – still finds majority support, though that support has been steadily dropping since June. In this poll, 60% favor it, with 34% opposed.

CNN Poll (released August 31):
Now thinking specifically about the health insurance plans available to most Americans, would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies?
Favor = 55%; Oppose = 41%; No opinion = 4%.

Kaiser Poll (released August 11):
Creating a government-administered public health insurance option similar to Medicare to compete with private health insurance plans
Favor = 59%; Oppose = 38%; Don't know = 3%.
[Breakdown: Strongly favor = 25%, Somewhat favor = 33%, Somewhat oppose = 16%, Strongly oppose = 22%, Don't know = 3%.]

In sum, even as opinions shift, the majority of Americans still favor a public option.

This support erodes under an onslaught of misinformation and fearmongering, so our work is cut out for us. I still hope the politicians DO listen to the people.

h/t to Greg Sargent at The Plum Line who notes that the White House is citing these polls BUT OMITTING MENTION OF THE PUBLIC SUPPORT OF A PUBLIC OPTION.

h/t to emptywheel who started me on this line of thought with her post "Obama Doesn't Want You To Know He Knows Public Option Is Popular."
--the BB