Wow... 48% of Dems want Obamacare all or part overturned? [View all]

[Laura PourMeADrink]

http://www.wane.com/dpps/health/healthy_living/supreme-court-in-a-no-win-position-on-obamacare_4206439

Excerpt from David Gergen:

Court finds itself in a bind

Consider the quandary the high court faces in trying to keep the public on its side.

Last week, a New York Times/CBS poll revealed that a majority of respondents -- 68% -- believes the individual mandate to buy health insurance, the central feature of the law, violates the Constitution and wants the court to overturn the law in part or in whole. Even a plurality of Democrats (48%) want a partial or full overturn. So if the court decides to uphold the law, it will sharply contravene current public opinion.

But what if the court indeed decides to strike down the mandate and possibly other parts of the law? In the near term, yes, that could be widely welcomed by the public. But over time it could stir up a different fire, one that could do further damage to the reputation and prestige of the court.

Despite its occasional waywardness, the Supreme Court has traditionally been viewed as the least partisan and most independent of the three branches of government. That in turn has built a reservoir of public trust so that, in controversial cases, most Americans believe that the justices have worn a blindfold, carefully weighing the law of the land. Thus they respect the law, an important source of legitimacy for our only nonelected branch of government.