The Washington Post and ABC News did a poll asking Americans about the current political climate and bipartisanship. The basic result is that Americans are frustrated by the lack of progress on important issues and both parties are taking the blame for this, but Republicans are coming in for more blame. When Americans were asked about health care reform, they saw the following result:
Americans expect Congress to keep working. The election of one Senator from Massachusetts is no excuse to stop. The message about who is to blame for the impasse is also starting to come through:
I hope the message is getting through to weak-kneed Democrats. Failure is not an option, the voters expect you to get things done. Voters also expect their officials to make the hard decisions. I think Obama is doing a good thing with his televised bipartisan health care summit. He’s basically calling the Republicans’ bluff. I feel confident in his ability to sell the current plan and to point out the problems and flaws in the Republican plans.