If only Harry Reid was capable of a Grinch-like epiphany.

Senate Democrats are celebrating this morning for passing their version of health care reform, but voters still don’t like much of what they see.

At the start of the week, 41% of voters nationwide were in favor of the health care bill, but 55% were opposed. This is the fifth straight week with support for the legislation between 38% and 41%. Rasmussen Report is continuing to track support for the plan on a weekly basis and will have new numbers on Monday morning. Part of the opposition comes from a general skepticism about Congress, rather than specific policy issues.

But there are specific policy issues that also raise challenges as the Democrats try to pass a final version of this legislation in early 2010.

The devil, of course, is in those specifics (I know, you thought it was behind Pelosi’s mask). This “most transparent congress and administration ever” tried to keep the details from us as long as possible but they couldn’t do it forever because this isn’t Soviet Union-The Sequel.

Yet.

Fifty-four percent (54%) say taxpayer-funded health insurance should be prohibited from covering abortions, up six points from September. The House version of the legislation includes such a prohibition, but the Senate version does not.

When the president excoriated people for making false claims about health care reform he must have been referring to some version of it that he personally scrawled on a napkin, not the steaming pile of legislative dung that he’s so proud of today.

Yes, there’s a little journey this federal steamroller has to take before it can officially begin “helping” in that ever-so-unhelpful federal way.

They’re going to have to bring in a team of euphemism experts to make sure the president is able to say he didn’t lie about virtually everything.

On another hot-button topic, 87% believe that before anyone receives government health care subsidies, they should be required to prove they are legally in the United States. President Obama and congressional Democrats insist the health care plan will not cover illegal immigrants, the legislation does not require proof of citizenship for those seeking taxpayer-funded health care help.

Only eight percent (8%) of voters oppose the requirement for proving that recipients of health care subsidies prove they are in the country legally. Public attitudes on this point have changed little since September.

I can’t purchase decongestants at CVS using my own money without giving them my driver’s license but, hey, if the government is paying for it there’s no reason to quibble over such technicalities.

As with the death panel/advisory board semantic hand-job, the president can stake a claim to some sort of veracity only if he ignores the real application of the law once it’s passed. Obama’s pathological arrogance is infusing the Democratic party at the moment. They believe that the American people are stupid enough to fall for “We didn’t say you could but we didn’t say you couldn’t .”

Whether we’re able to derail this nightmare or not, President Obama and his federally hyperactive minions are going to find one thing out. This merry band of idiots they believe themselves to be the divinely appointed rulers of have long memories.

And we can read.