One aspect of the GOP health care bill seemed settled even before House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the plug Friday: public opinion.

Polls conducted since House Republicans released the first draft of legislation three weeks ago show little public support for the bill, the surest sign that Americans were not yet on board with the GOP plan. In the most recent survey, a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday, only 17 percent of registered voters approved of the legislation — far fewer than the 56 percent who disapproved.

By almost every measure — overall enthusiasm for the bill, confidence that it will improve the health care system or decrease costs, support for many individual elements of the legislation — the GOP health care plan fell short among voters even before it was yanked from the House floor on Friday.

Opponents of the bill were far more wholehearted than its supporters, according to all the available public polling. In the Quinnipiac poll, 43 percent of voters strongly disapproved of the bill. By comparison, only 6 percent strongly approved of it.