A solid majority of Americans believe with President Barack Obama that any remaking of the present health-insurance system should include a public option, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

But here's the rub. Only a small minority of them would want to be insured by such a plan. That's a fairly intriguing paradox.

An excerpt from the press release announcing the poll results:

Although 69 percent of voters nationwide say Americans should have the option of government- run health insurance, only 28 percent would choose to be covered by it, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Voters say 49 - 45 percent they would pay more to reform health care, but a total of 72 percent don't want to pay more than $500 a year.
 

A Quinnipiac researcher had this analysis of the poll's results:

"American voters want their fellow countrymen to have the option of a public plan, but don't want a public plan for themselves because they are satisfied personally with their health care," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "That presents a challenge to those who want Americans to pay more to reform the system."

"In addition, seven out of ten voters aren't willing to chip in what amounts to the price of a cheese pizza per week - without extra toppings - in order to finance an overhaul," Brown added. "Opposition to paying any additional taxes ranges from 40 percent among lower paid voters to 52 percent among those making more than $100,000 per year."

It's not often that cheese pizza gets mentioned in the health-care debate. Maybe fewer cheese pizzas would mean healthier Americans who would need to use health care less often which would reduce the cost of health care. But that's a discussion for another time.