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 Feature: The "Separation of Powers" is Crumbling (and Why It Matters)

When a freshman Representative from Louisiana, Jeff Landry, describes the role of the House Republicans as the conductor driving the train, not the cheerleading squad on the sidelines, are we meant to be enthusiastic or appalled? If a President were now to cede the legislative agenda and authority to Congress, how will the strength of his leadership be gauged? Is the American public prepared for such a sea change?

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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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US Feature: How the Supreme Court's Next Decisions Will Become Part of 2012 Politics

Against a background of a hotly-fought election, with some of the issues before the Court like immigration and health care reform sure to contribute to the ideological divide, “rambunctious” may prove to be an understatement of the nine months ahead.

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