In his press conference responding to the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act decision, President Obama did something that top Democrats have rarely done: Openly admit that the law itself is not very popular.
“It should be pretty clear that I didn’t do this because it was good politics,” Obama said towards the end of his remarks.
It is a likely preview of how he may try to frame the issue in the fall: “Hey, I did the right thing no matter how tough and unpopular it was. Give me credit for that.”
It is not a bad spin. It takes credit for the law, which his base supporters like, while trying to use it as evidence to moderates and swing voters that he has grit. He’s hoping they give him grudging credit for his doggedness.
It is certainly better than avoiding talking about Obamacare at all, which is what the campaign has mostly been doing for the last few months. The court ruling has rendered that impossible.
