NH on Man Dates

The latest Boston Globe/UNH poll of the NH primary shows Obama beating Clinton by two points, confirming that NH is as much a two-way tie as Iowa is a three-way one. More important, though, are the poll's internals, particularly those about health care. The poll's authors had the great idea of asking voters if they want an individual mandate, and the results are striking. By a 19 point margin (54% to 35%), voters oppose a mandate. And in none of the subgroups identified in the poll is there a plurality supporting one - there's a tie among people who moved to NH within the last 10 years, those between the ages of 50 and 64, and those supporting Edwards, but that's the most support a mandate gets. Most striking of all, a plurality of of Clinton supporters (49% to 42%) oppose a mandate. For all of her hammering on the subject, Clinton's arguments in favor of a mandate don't seem to be convincing the voters who'll actually play a role in choosing the nominee.