“Part of [the problem] is the message not getting through. … We have to do a better job of explaining to the American people … the principled things that they will get out of this.” — then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown,” Jan. 11, 2010

Wait until the bill passes, the White House and Democratic congressional leaders assured rank-and-file lawmakers. Then, they said, the education process will begin: Americans will realize all the benefits in the law and its popularity will rise.

Not quite. No amount of messaging adjustments or campaigns to sell the law has worked so far.

The law is as unpopular today as it was two months after passing in March 2010, when 41 percent of Americans held a favorable opinion of the overhaul and 44 percent viewed it unfavorably, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll.

Democrats have come to rely on their next best hope: waiting until the bulk of the law takes effect in 2014.

That’s when 30 million uninsured Americans will gain coverage. The impact will be felt by more than the few constituency groups reaping the benefits now: senior citizens who were helped with their prescription drug costs, women who no longer pay for mammograms, parents who can keep children on their insurance policies until they turn 26.