Health Care Still Sliding as Issue with Voters

The headline on the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows Sen. Barack Obama with a slight lead over Sen. John McCain. His troubles with white male voters continue to drag down what ought to be an overwhelming lead given the economic conditions in the country.

Most notable to me was the decision to devote just one paragraph in the story (its last) to issues. It read this way:

Concerns about the Iraq war and the economy dwarf all other issues, including terrorism, illegal immigration, the mortgage mess, the environment and global warming.

Where's health care? So I went to the actual poll data and found this ranking of the issues (respondents were asked to name which two issues they considered most important in this year's election):

The economy .................................. 47

Iraq................................................ 30

Energy ........................................... 28

Health care...................................... 23

Immigration ................................... 18

Family values issues ........................ 14

The environment............................... 9

Trade ............................................... 7

A year ago, health care was widely seen as the primary domestic concern of the American people. Now, the nation's faltering economy and soaring energy bills have pushed it off center stage.