The Candidates Need to Catch Up to the Public« Thread Started on Aug 3, 2007, 9:45pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Candidates Need to Catch Up to the PublicPosted August 3, 2007 | 01:41 PM (EST) read at source> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rose-ann- ... .htmlThose presidential candidates who continue to tip toe on the critical issues facing voters ought to take a close look at poll results in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.The poll shows again how far the voters are ahead of the cautious politicians, especially on such essential matters as overhaul of our dysfunctional health care system and the hijacking of our economic and public life by big corporations. (Admittedly, it may be the last independent glimpse like this we see in the news pages of the venerable Journal whose new owner Rupert Murdoch is a greater practitioner of fantasy than Harry Potter.)Buttressed with a telling headline, "America's Economic Gloomy," the Journal/NBC News poll demonstrated that Americans are especially alarmed about their health security and the shift in resources from working people to wealthy interests.On the biggest question, 44% of respondents identified "health care costs" as their top economic worry. That was followed by "jobs going overseas" and "the gap between rich and poor."More reinforcement of those views could be found later in the poll when respondents were asked to rate their confidence in 16 varied institutions. The bottom rung was firmly held by health insurance companies, for which 62% of Americans said they have "very little confidence" or "no confidence at all." Next in line at the rear -- large corporations, 49% little or no confidence, and the pharmaceutical industry, coming in at 47%.