HARD TO SHUT UP THE SOYLENT GREEN:

Seniors Remain Wary of Health-Care Reform: Administration Aims to Reassure Older Americans Fearful of Losing Access to Care (Ceci Connolly, 8/09/09, Washington Post)

Senior citizens are emerging as a formidable obstacle to President Obama's ambitious health-care reform plans.

The discontent in the powerful and highly organized voting bloc has risen to such a level that the administration is scrambling to devise a strategy to woo the elderly.

Obama's task will not be easy. Proposals to squeeze more than $500 billion out of the growth of Medicare over the next decade have fueled fears that his effort to expand coverage to millions of younger, uninsured Americans will damage elder care. As a result, barely one-third of seniors support a health-care overhaul, several polls found.