Anxiety Attacks

"Angst about health care is real because people are just anxious in general. They don't have jobs, and those who do are worried about losing them. They're saying, 'Holy crap, I've got $10,000 on my credit card, and you're talking about change? Guess what, dude, I can't handle any more change right now.' "

Some Republican opponents of health-care reform can be justifiably charged with using fear tactics, such as allowing the elderly to think they're going to have to pick a death date under Obamacare. Rush Limbaugh has said, for instance, that "people at a certain age with certain diseases will be deemed not worth the investment, and . . . they'd give them some pain pills, and let them loop out till they die."

But it's really not necessary to scare people with science-fiction scenarios to inspire opposition to an overhaul of health care that would add $239 billion to the federal budget deficit over the next 10 years (according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office). This would be in addition to the $11 trillion in deficits already expected between 2009 and 2019 under President Obama's budget plan.

Why would anyone be upset?

The rest of August promises to be a battle of ads for and against health-care reform, all of which are likely to add to the nation's free-floating anxiety. The crux of this anxiety is a loss of trust, which may be reflected in Obama's plummeting job approval. A poll by Quinnipiac University shows that just half of those surveyed approve of the president's performance, down seven points in the past month.

Here's how a Florida real estate appraiser summed up the zeitgeist: "People don't believe the politicians or the government stats when they know five couples who are losing their house and cars. . . . Basically, it's a total disconnect from government, and government cannot influence their decisions unless they give them money, yet every giveaway reinforces their lack of faith."

The town hall protests may be orchestrated, but nobody had to manufacture the anger on display. With unemployment at 9.4 percent, the dog days are beginning to feel like the dogs of war.

Congress and Obama might want to take note.

kathleenparker@washpost.com