An Unbecoming Critique

Chief Justice John Roberts, exceptionally brilliant and conservative, represents a singular, unavoidable threat to Obama's agenda.

Some good points can be culled, among some bad ones, from Ruth Marcus' observations on the president's bizarre warning to the Supreme Court yesterday. A mixed bag, Marcus supports ObamaCare, but she found his words troubling nonetheless. Join the club, Ruth.

From The Washington Post

But the president went too far in asserting that it “would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step” for the court to overturn “a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.” That’s what courts have done since Marbury v. Madison. The size of the congressional majority is of no constitutional significance. We give the ultimate authority to decide constitutional questions to “a group of unelected people” precisely to insulate them from public opinion.

Here's a fascinating development to this story, from CBSNews:

(CBS News) In the escalating battle between the administration and the judiciary, a federal appeals court apparently is calling the president's bluff -- ordering the Justice Department to answer by Thursday whether the Obama Administration believes that the courts have the right to strike down a federal law, according to a lawyer who was in the courtroom.

The order, by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, appears to be in direct response to the president's comments yesterday about the Supreme Court's review of the health care law. Mr. Obama all but threw down the gauntlet with the justices, saying he was "confident" the Court would not "take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress."