Fly on the Wall

Polls suggest that Obama's speech may have changed a few minds on health care. I had a student in class offer interesting anecdotal support for that shift. She answers phones in the local office of one of our US Senators (GOP) and said that the day after Obama's speech there was a seismic change in the calls they were getting. Many self-identified Republicans, some of whom were calling to alter their opinions from earlier days, voiced strong support for the Dem plans. And several Republican callers expressed outrage over Joe Wilson's heckling.

You never know if something like that will last. People tend to drift back to their default loyalties once memory of a dramatic event or speech fades from their minds. And partisan narratives, like Joe Wilson as truth-telling "hero," can take on their own lives. Still, an encouraging tidbit.