The dominant story in Friday's papers was that President Obama's speech had united Democrats and reenergized the push for health reform. But what about the rest of America?

Overnight polling of Americans over 45 from the AARP shows independents are more in favor of reform after watching the president's speech and, furthermore, that a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all agreed reform must be a priority for this year. Remember earlier polls had shown that older Americans had been more apprehensive about reform, particularly after hearing lots of distortions about how it was supposedly going to harm Medicare, 

Key findings from the poll include:

• 70 percent of respondents had questions and concerns about reform before the speech
• Of those who had questions, three-quarters said their questions and concerns were talked about or addressed during the speech.
• Of those who felt their concerns were brought up, close to seven in 10 respondents and 63 percent of Independents were supportive of the proposals discussed.
• 95 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of Independents, and even 56 percent of Republicans wanted reform to be a priority for our leaders.

In an accompanying press release, Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president said:

What we saw in this survey was something we've seen for decades: that once you explain why we need reform, people understand its importance. [Wednesday's] speech wasn't as much of a ‘game changer' as it was a volume softener. Older Americans across the political spectrum continue to agree that reform must be accomplished this year -- we are hopeful that momentum carries us to reform that AARP can support.