On Friday, I noted that a WSJ article stood out as being one of the very few I've seen that even raised the question of possible political downsides the GOP could face if they successfully kill health care reform.

Watching the coverage unfold I'd been surprised that so few in the press even considered that Republicans might face some kind of backlash. Instead, the press has been painting their opposition as win-win, despite the fact that polls show a clear majority of Americans want health care reform; the type of health care reform Democrats in Congress are proposing.

Here's the latest proof of that, courtesy Gallup:

Yep, an astounding 71 percent of Americans want a new health care reform bill passed. But don't tell the press, they're too busy writing about the Republican pending success in blocking health care reform.

In fact, in an effort to prove my point, Reuters actually used the above Gallup polling data to highlight bad news for Obama.

Behold [emphasis added]:

Obama's soaring rhetoric helped him win the presidency and propelled his first months in Washington. But despite his frequent speeches declaring a healthcare revamp is urgently needed to help rebuild the U.S. economy, Americans are still expressing some uncertainty.

A Gallup poll released on Friday said only 41 percent of those surveyed wanted legislation approved this year, and the poll was done on Thursday night, one day after Obama's healthcare-dominated news conference.

See, 71 percent of Americans want health care reform. But to the Beltway press that's not bad news for Republicans, it's bad news for Obama; it simply proves Americans are “expressing some uncertainty.”