As might be expected, I returned home to a very large stack of email. My “Give Bush a Break” column in particular generated a lot of heat from the usual suspects. There’s no point in arguing much of the opinion stuff, since minds are generally made up about Iraq, the Patriot Act etc. But some lefty readers have accused me of making up facts. For example, they complain that it’s just not true that seniors have reported that they like the Medicare plan. So, just for the record, I will cite a source they generally respect: NPR.

Here’s a partial transcript from just over a month ago:

SHOW: Weekend Edition Sunday 12:00 PM EST July 30, 2006 Sunday LENGTH: 751 words HEADLINE: Seniors Happy with Drug Benefit ANCHORS: LIANE HANSEN REPORTERS: JULIE ROVNER BODY: LIANE HANSEN, host: Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit continues to confound political pundits. When it was enacted in 2003, mostly with Republican support, the program was considered a huge plus for President Bush and his party. But earlier this year, Democrats thought the pendulum had swung their way when seniors were confused by having to choose from among dozens of plans. However, the latest tracking survey from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation finds most seniors are satisfied with their drug plans. NPR Health Policy Correspondent Julie Rovner joins us to talk about what this latest survey means. First of all, Julie, what did the survey find exactly? JULIE ROVNER reporting: Well, the survey found that most people are happy, which came as a surprise, considering all the complaints that we’ve heard. Eighty percent of the people said they were satisfied with the plans they’re in. Seventy-five percent said they would sign up for that same plan again. Those with a negative view of the benefit overall declined to its lowest point since the foundation has been doing these tracking polls, which goes back to the beginning of the benefit.

Me: Now, please take note of the fact that I myself do not like the Medicare plan very much. I think many of its liberal and conservative critics make good arguments against it. My point was merely that the Democrats denounced the plan when it served their interests and stopped doing so when it’s anti-Bush effect diminished.