'Give us the public option!'

Can rising poll numbers for a government-sponsored health insurance plan be trusted?

The eye-grabbing news from a CBS/New York Times poll: Almost three-quarters of Americans "support a government-sponsored health care plan." A similar ABC/Washington Post poll puts the figure at 57 percent. Has the demand for a public option really turned a corner?

No, the ABC/Post poll was "rigged": The reality, say the editorial writers at The Wall Street Journal, "is that no one wants a public option except the political Left ... doctors and hospitals hate the idea as much as insurers do—and they're far from natural allies."

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