Americans believe that both Republicans and Democrats were fighting about health care reform because of politics, not policy, a new CBS News poll finds.
Asked why Democrats worked to pass a health care bill, 57 percent said "mostly political reasons." Just 35 percent said it was because Democrats think the bill is good policy.
Americans had an even more cynical view of Republican motivations: Sixty-one percent said Republicans were acting on the basis of political concerns, while 29 percent said Republicans truly believed the bill was bad policy.
While partisans on both sides tended to think their party was acting out of policy concerns, independents were overwhelmingly likely to say that both parties were simply playing politics.
Further findings show that Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, are viewed unfavorably by three times as many people than those who view them favorably.
Yet those who do have an opinion of the Democratic Congressional leaders don't seem to have a very good one: Pelosi and Reid are viewed unfavorably by roughly three times as many people as they are viewed favorably.
Pelosi's favorable rating in the poll stands at 11 percent. Her unfavorable rating, meanwhile, is 37 percent -- meaning that more than one in three views the California Democrat negatively.
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