Medicare, deficits and the politics of 2012

Reuters offers an analysis based on a recent poll and finds that people, shaken by the difficult economy, worry about the impact of efforts to address the nation's deficit. This concept could lead to Democrats finding traction for their positions on Medicare.

Reuters: Insight: Deficits, The U.S. Election And Politics Of Fear
With the public shaken by high unemployment, some voters worry aggressive measures to shrink deficits could leave people in the cold. Obama frequently paints the Republican vision of government as "you're-on-your-own" economics. He says Republicans would "gut" funding for Medicare, the federal program that pays for elderly health care and which is often flagged as the top threat to long-term budget sustainability. ... Polls suggest this approach could have some bite. When Americans were asked in a Pew poll late last year to choose between fixing the deficit and keeping Medicare unchanged, they favored Medicare by a wide margin (Lange and MacInnis, 2/2).

Meanwhile, more reports from the GOP presidential primary campaign trail -

Boston Globe: Romney Shifted On 'Conscience' Issue
Mitt Romney accused President Obama this week of ordering "religious organizations to violate their conscience," referring to a White House decision that requires all health plans - even those covering employees at Catholic hospitals, charities, and colleges - to provide free birth control. But a review of Romney's tenure as Massachusetts governor shows that he once took a similar step. In December 2005, Romney required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic ones, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims, even though some Catholics view the morning-after pill as a form of abortion (Jan, 2/3).

The Associated Press: Santorum Warns Voters Of Country's Likely Demise
Rick Santorum's campaign slogan could very well be one word: doomsday. To hear him tell it, the United States will collapse under the weight of its health care system and basic freedoms will be history. ... On the health care overhaul, Santorum warns: "Be careful what you do ... because once the government creates a right, it can tell you how to exercise that right" (Elliott, 2/3).