It is therefore with a heavy heart that I report that no fewer than 39 percent of my fellow Americans agree that “the government should stay out of Medicare.” Another 15 percent aren’t sure. This means that a majority of Americans (margin of error: 3 percent) is at best unsure as to whether Medicare is a government program. The left appears to have a firmer grip on reality, at least within this circumscribed realm, than the right. Sixty-two percent of McCain voters, 59 percent of self-described conservatives, and 62 percent of self-described Republicans think government should stay out of Medicare as against (a still distressingly high) 20 percent of Obama voters, 25 percent of self-described liberals, and 24 percent of self-described Democrats. Among independents, 31 percent agreed that government should stay out of Medicare.