Why the NBC/WSJ "brand-new" poll is should be ignored

And according to a brand-new NBC News poll, 47% of Americans -- a plurality -- oppose the public plan, versus 43% who support it. That's a shift from last month's NBC/WSJ poll, when 46% said they backed it and 44% were opposed.

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Despite the sturm und drang among politicians, a public plan generates barely a ripple of controversy among voters. In the last two months, no fewer than eight polls have found strong majorities favoring a public plan. When different pollsters, using different methods and different wording, all converge on the same answer, you can bet the public really does support a public option.

The highest level of support came in a survey sponsored by a bevy of corporations and conducted for the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which found 83 percent in favor of “creating a new public health insurance plan that anyone can purchase.” Just 14 percent opposed a public plan.

In a follow-up question explaining the benefits and disadvantages associated with a public plan, 45% said they agreed with the description -- by supporters -- that it would help lower health-care costs and provide coverage for uninsured Americans.