Did John Roberts make Mitt Romney our 45th president at approximately 10:15 in the morning on June 28, 2012? Possibly, but not quite the way you may think. He gave Romney the cause and crusade he was lacking, gave him the tax issue, gave him a link to the Tea Party fervor and pushed all the small, pesky issues that plagued him off the political map.

This is now a great big theme election, organized around principles on which he may have an advantage. And, by keeping health care alive as a threat at least through the presidential election, Roberts has done as much as one person can to make sure the economy, straight through November, will continue to be pretty bad.