Pawlenty Campaign's Top Issue in 2012: Health Care?

Tim Pawlenty’s new campaign manager, Nick Ayers, hasn’t even cleaned out his desk inside the Beltway to make the move to Minnesota. But he’s already telling people outside the Beltway what the most important issue will be in in 2012. In an interview with Politico, Ayers says it’s health care. Really.

It’s more accurate to say health care is the most important issue to pummel Mitt Romney with, as American adults rank the issue with single digits and just one point above “unsure.” A recent CBS poll posted at PollingReport.com reveals what American adults identify as, “the most important problem facing this country today.”

CBS News Poll. March 18-21, 2011. N=1,022 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.
“What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” Open-ended
			%
	Economy/Jobs		51
	Budget deficit/National debt		7
	Health care		5
	Education		3
	War/Iraq/Afghanistan		3
	Other		27
	Unsure		4

It should be no surprise to well-compensated political operatives that jobs and the economy are the most important issues to Americans. Now if only there was a credible candidate who could run on the message, “America, you’re hired.”