71% of Americans favor Waxman-Markey?!?

That's what a new Zogby poll seems to say - if you squint at it in the right direction. Keeping in mind that Obama won 52-46, that seems a little high.

Of course, when it comes to surveys on things like global warming, clean energy and the like, a lot depends on how the questions are phrased. Zogby asked potential voters to self-identify into one of two broad camps ahead of Senate action on the energy bill, which made it a closer-run thing.

The first camp—“I think the Senate should take action because I believe we need a new energy plan right now that invests in American, renewable energy sources like wind and solar, in order to create clean energy jobs, address global warming and reduce our dependency on foreign oil“—mustered 54% support.

The second camp—“I think the Senate should wait on this proposal, I believe the House energy bill is a hidden tax that will cost thousands of dollars every year in increased energy prices, weaken our economy further, and cause America to lose jobs to China and other countries”—got 41% support.

Luckily, there is a good source for authoritative views on these types of questions - his name is Nate Silver and I trust he will express an informed opinion shortly.