US Photo of the Day: Truman 1948, Obama 2012 --- CNN's Great Mistake

See also US Politics Analysis: How Chief Justice Roberts Saved ObamaCare...and Gave the President an Election Problem

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Two photographs telling a story of continuity and change in US politics and the media....

In 1948, President Harry Truman was fighting an uphill battle vs. Republican challenger Thomas Dewey. Early returns on Election Night gave Dewey a lead, big enough for the Chicago Daily Tribune --- no great fan of the President --- to put out a special edition, "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN".

When the full count produced a very different outcome, Truman had the last laugh in a picture that has crossed the decades of US politics.

On Thursday morning, as the Supreme Court's long-awaited decision on President Obama's health care legislation was being announced, CNN tried to get a jump on its rivals with a Newsflash: "Mandate Struck Down: High Court Finds Measure Unconstitutional". (It should be noted that Fox News also put out the mistaken declaration, but it was CNN's initial error that grabbed attention.)

It only took a few hours and PhotoShop for a 21st-century update of Truman's 1948 iconic image:

US Politics Analysis: How Chief Justice Roberts Saved ObamaCare...and Gave the President an Election Problem

Chief Justice John Roberts' opinion has rewritten the dynamics of the upcoming Presidential election. With Obamacare being declared constitutional as a tax, the face-value victory for the Administration may well cost Obama the White House in November.

The law was already unpopular with many Americans who saw it as an unconstitutional infringement on their rights. A majority of the Court agreed with them, but the salvation of the Affordable Care Act is that it is a Federal tax.

So after the dozens of pages of legal opinion, a one-sentence question: can you imagine the political advantage Mitt Romney and Republicans will try to take from the President being forced to defend that new tax scheme?

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US Politics Opinion: Getting Mad at the Supreme Court Over ObamaCare

It has been a distressing three days in the Supreme Court for liberals who, two years ago, initially scoffed at the suggestion of a constitutional challenge to the ACA. They have not reacted in with the consideration that they so often mock conservatives for lacking.

The reality is that there is a credible case for the individual mandate being unconstitutional. Condemning the Court, before it has even made a decision, is an evasion of the legal process --- whatever the eventual decision --- and it is poor politics, especially in an election year. There are alternatives for those seeking wider provision of health care, but they will disappear without an Obama second term.

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