A recent Q-poll ranked Barack Obama and George W. Bush as the worst Presidents since WW II. This is further proof of the polarization of this country and the short memories many have. Bill Clinton was impeached yet comes in near the bottom of this survey. Richard Nixon resigned from office in disgrace yet is somehow rehabilitated by this survey. Lyndon Johnson mismanaged the conflict in Vietnam but has been judged kindly after not being able to run for reelection in 1968 because he was so unpopular in his own party. Harry Truman was so disliked by 1952 no Democrat wanted to be seen with him, yet he got 0 % in this survey. Historical appreciation and the now are too different things as we so often see. In time both George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s images will be rehabilitated (With Bush the process has already begun). You can go to the bank with that statement. But the impact on current elections are unmistakable. Much like 1952 ended in a Republican sweep thanks to the unpopular Truman, 2014 is looking like a dire situation for Democrats. Poll numbers right now are worse for the Democrats than in 2010. But the Q-poll results work two ways as the continued polarization around Bush motivates activist Democrats to  work hard and vote, even if much of the American public is moving on. It also indicates the intensity of opposition to Obama throughout the nation.  – KK @kkfla737

Field, field, field. Everybody everywhere is talking about field work and data numbers. If you are a field organizer and not up to your eyeballs in charts and graphs at this point of the year, you are probably doing something wrong. While field managers prepare target numbers for GOTV, there are a lot of other factors playing into this election. There are so many unknowns that field work is getting harder and harder to predict. Was 2010 the worst it could get? Could this year be even more catastrophic for the democratic candidates around the state? Polling indicates it just might be. Will apathy toward both candidates keep voters at home, causing havoc down-ballot? There is a rise of no party affiliated voters and there is increasing speculation that a Republican landslide is going to occur and there are constant questions about the power of the tea party. Can anyone properly prepare for the evolving political face of the Florida voters? There is change in the air – in political science, there are referred to as realignments, but it is unclear if we are truly moving into one. The big questions become will campaigns adapt to these new unknowns or keep using the Obama formulas? The only way to beat the speculation is to hit the ground and get out in the field. While the FDP claimed it was beefing up their field game for November, the reality is in order for this to be effective it needed to be implemented last summer. With the RPOF already having over 60 field offices around the state, there is no way to catch up, so once again Democrats are behind the game. My advice: number wise, prepare for 2010 turnout baseline, but subtract 10 percent of the Democratic voters and add 15 percent for the Republicans and get out in the field and see if you can move the numbers. And hope for a miracle. – KB @BurnettKaty 

Last week, the White House issued a report that said Rick Scott’s failure to expand Florida’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act will cost the state nearly 64,000 jobs in the 2014-2016 period, leave 850,000 uninsured (whom would otherwise have coverage) and nearly 160.000 facing financial problems because of inabilities in paying their medical bills. Additionally the report shares that the economic effects of refusing to expand medicaid, will result in $15 billion less of federal spending in Florida during that same period. While Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi are focused on the threats facing Floridians in a future that includes marriage equality, the lack of expansion is actually killing people. Friend of the Squeeze, Billy Manes had the exclusive and heart breaking story about Charlene Dill, an uninsured Floridian that died, because of her lack of health insurance, which she ultimately would have had if Rick Scott pushed expansion or the Florida Legislature would pass it. I ask Florida lawmakers, whats the bigger threat to Floridians: Allowing people to marry whom they love or Republican backed refusal to expand medicaid that’s already killing people?  – JS @JustinSnyderFL

The World Cup has been a much bigger phenomena in the United States than I expected. The event has long been the biggest sporting event on the planet (Americans may not believe it but the World Cup is much bigger than the Olympics on a global stage). The popularity of the event at home and abroad has kept me busier than expected with dozens of outside media appearances in addition to my regular job duties. It’s been a crazy ride but I would be remiss if I did not point out my qualms with some of the phony nationalism the tournament provides. As someone who covers the sport for a living, I am accustomed to covering club sides particularly in Europe that have players from 10-15 different nations. That helps to unify people. I have found the World Cup has been a polarizing affair. Not in the United States where we have proud immigrant communities supporting their home nations and a strong sense of American nationalism which never translates to violence. But in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America where the nationalism has a potentially more violent edge, things have come close to exploding. Ultimately I like teams that are multiracial, multi-ethnic and bring people across the globe together, like Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal and Bayern Munich do. I feel in many ways the World Cup divides people in an unhealthy way across the globe.  This is a topic I intend to explore more in the coming weeks and months. – KK @kkfla737

You may have noticed, I have been rather quiet on The Florida Squeeze this past week or so. My grandmother was hospitalized recently and we were quite afraid that we were going to lose her. Luckily, the doctors and surgical team at JFK Hospital were able to stabilize the 86 year old free spirit and medicare beneficiary. As I roamed the halls during some of the most stress filled moments of this ordeal, I ran into a few nurses and doctors, casually talking off hand about the health care system and reforms. We were all in agreement that the Medicare system would be the ideal model for our nation- a single payer system, that essentially removes the middle man; the insurance companies. Medicare has been such an amazing success story, a trophy policy of American progressivism and liberalism. Since its implementation, “the health of seniors has improved, as measured by both longevity and functional status,” said one study published in the journal Health Affairs. In fact, according to the study, “life expectancy at age 65 increased from 14.3 years in 1960 to 17.8 years in 1998 and the chronically disabled senior population declined from 24.9 percent in 1982 to 21.3 percent in 1994.” Leaders of the Commonwealth Fund wrote in May that, “compared to people with private insurance, Medicare enrollees have greater access to care [and] fewer problems with medical bills.” The Medicare System saved my Grandmother’s life, and it must be the ultimate goal for the country. HR 676, the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act was introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) in 2013 would have set up a universal single payer health care system. The idea had actually been kicked around in congress back in 2003 when it had 25 cosponsors but got lost in the debates over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aka Obama Care. In fact it was supposed to be debated and voted upon in September of 2009 by the House of Representatives, but of course, never was. Obamacare has its merits, but unfortunately it sorely lacks in the cost control department and of course, leaves the insurance companies in between Americans and their doctors. Its time Democrats own Medicare, this most triumphant of programs and greatest successes of liberalism, and push forward toward the dream of an American single payer system. – JS @JustinSnyderFL