WORDS MATTER

Frank Luntz is correct: It's not what you say, it's what people hear. In this case, the poison word is "socialized." I noted below that a large majority, 68%, of Americans approve of mandatory health care coverage, with the government helping those who cannot pay. When asked about socialized medicine, the numbers drop significantly. A survey done by the Harvard School of Public Health found that only 45% thought "that if we had socialized medicine in this country that the health care system would be better."

This may be due to the decades of the Cold War where "socialized" almost always meant "Communism." 55% of people under 35 thought socialized medicine would be better for the country but only 30% of those over 65 agreed.