Does Supreme Court health care decision vindicate Obama's leadership?

AFP/Getty Images

(CBS News) President Obama's health care reform package has been controversial since its inception in the 2008 campaign. Thursday, with its decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court laid to rest questions about the law's constitutionality.

What the court hasn't resolved, however, was whether Mr. Obama's health care battle demonstrated the kind of leadership that Americans want to see for another four years.

The president's supporters are sure to say the court's decision vindicates the hard-fought struggle for health care reform. But the debate is far from over -- Mr. Obama's main rival Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal the law. And even as the economy overshadows the issue of health care reform, Romney can still point to the health care struggle as evidence of the president's failed leadership.

"Clearly, the public is not enamored with the health care law," said Stu Rothenberg, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. "On the one hand, [Mr. Obama] wants to take credit for it and wants to talk about addressing a tough issue -- that does show leadership. On the other hand, showing leadership on a matter of public policy on which [voters] don't approve may not get you any points."

When confronted earlier this month on CBS' "Face the Nation" with the fact that his Massachusetts health care plan closely resembles the president's federal law, Romney attacked Mr. Obama for the way managed to get the law passed.

"We created a solution," Romney said of his Massachusetts plan. "Republicans and Democrats, business and labor in our state, we worked collaboratively. The president instead, on a very partisan basis, jammed through a bill, didn't get a single Republican vote, didn't really try and work for a Republican vote. I mean the people of Massachusetts, the most Democrat state in the nation, voted for a Republican senator to stop Obamacare. He went ahead anyway and put this-- this bill upon the American people. They don't want it."

Certainly, polls suggest that Romney's right -- people don't want the health care law. Seven in 10 Americans said earlier this month that they wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the entire law or at least the requirement for all Americans to purchase insurance.

Yet health care is hardly at the top of people's minds. When asked to name the most important issue facing the country, fewer than 10 percent of voters typically name health care, according to CBS News polling. The issue reached its peak in October 2009 -- in the midst of the health care reform debate -- when 20 percent called it the most important issue. Still, more than twice as many Americans called the economy more important.

And even though people don't like the health care bill, it hasn't taken a toll on their views of Mr. Obama's leadership. A CBS News/ New York Times poll from January revealed that more Americans still trust him over Republicans to handle health care. And more generally speaking, 60 percent of registered voters think the president has strong leadership qualities (compared to 36 percent who don't, according to an April Quinnipiac poll).

That leadership test is crucial, according Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, CEO of the Mellman Group.

Complete Coverage: Health Care
Obama, Romney react to health care

"It's very difficult for someone not seen as a strong leader to be elected or re-elected. Jimmy Carter had real problems being seen as a leader, some of his own making, some not," Mellman said. "There's a threshold test for leadership that any president or aspiring presidential candidate has to pass, and if health care had failed, [Mr. Obama] may well have failed that test."

It wasn't pretty, but Mr. Obama did manage to get his top policy priority accomplished.

"I would argue that the ability to get a major health care bill through was a remarkable accomplishment, especially given the clear and overt Republican strategy to vote in unison and against him," said Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute. "I also believe the notion that if he only waited on health care things would be much better is simply wrong. If you have any signature priority you want to push as a president, you do it early when you have the most political capital. That doesn't mean there wasn't a price to pay -- clearly the backlash against the bill has been considerable."

Republicans are still capitalizing on that backlash, promising to act in the coming weeks on legislation to repeal the health care law. And Romney has based his campaign on the promise to repeal "Obamacare" and offer stronger leadership.

When talking about the Supreme Court this week, Romney said, "I think all their work highlights the leadership failures of our current president."

[Tanksleyd]

This is the one remaining (GOOD) question that won't be answered for another 2-3 days in the daily polls.

[magicbymark]

When talking about the Supreme Court this week, Romney said, "I think all their work highlights the leadership failures of our current president." Sorry Mitt, the Supreme Court gets the last word, not you.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

NO, NO and NO.!!!

Since this is about the only thing he has accomplished in 3 1/2 years; besides get the US in deeper and deeper; NO, NO and NO.

[ugacrew]

You can't count.

[hillzhavays]

You cannot place Obama and "leadership" in the same sentence without also including a reference to his "lack of" leadership.

[sjc_1]

This is a odd question in the story title. The price of health care is ruining the country. If twice as much is going to health care, then it is not going else where to more productive purposes. This is an economic reality, people can rant about this and that, but THE major problem is staring us all right in the face every day.

[92F150]

Excellent point. The cost growth problem has been around for decades, outpacing inflation every year. The GAO can't come up with a solution except politically dead ideas such as rationing. The AHCA is setting up research for this and some ideas will be tried out in small scale cases. But the biggest endorsement is the CBO which shows big savings long-term just by lowering the total who are uninsured.

[Nocults]

The USA pays twice as much for health care as any other industrialized nation, has 40% fewer Physicians as a % to patients, and has the 14th best outcomes.
That's what "for profit" medicine does for your global competitiveness.

[92F150]

I don't know if this vindicates his leadership but it sure makes it a heck of lot harder for HCRA pundits to sell their ideas to undecided voters. Mainly because they were wrong about the constitutionality. Makes the undecided wonder what else are they wrong about? Maybe the HCRA pundits are just paranoid that someone will notice how they were wrong about unregulated mortgage backed securities, tax cuts for the rich to create jobs for the middle class, that a budget standoff will be good for the economy and that gas prices would rise in June.

[wfw3536]

What has become clear to a lot folks is President Obama was not honest with the American people. If Obamataxcare was presented to congress and the American people as a tax it never would have passed. And Obama said he would never tax folks making under 250,000 dollars a year, well this group in 2016 will need to pay over 2,000 dollars a year if they chose not to take health insurance. Another area that they do not tell folks is many businesses will drop their health insurance coverage for their employees because paying the government is much cheaper which means those folks are on their own having to go to a government run health insurance which will end up costing them more.How sad we have come to this far in our country where our president isn't honest with the American people. Time for folks to wake up and vote in November.

[Misanthrope-Obama]

Stephanie Condon, have you lost your mind again?
The answer is NO and more of a reason to get rid of this destructive failure of a president.
That has to be one of the most ignorant questions asked this year.
Stll trying to prop up this poser are you Stephie?

[Hutterite]

Yes. Yes it does.

[Montana5]

The Republicans have no answers or solutions to problems. Romney's campaign is based entirely upon on what he is going to undo. He has no plan, no vision and no solutions....he's the perfect fit to lead a party (which used to be mine) that has become negative and self-serving to their own narrow interests. Shame!

[realist2010]

Chevy, you just started caring about debt and deficits on Obama's inauguration day. Give the country a break and look at your own behavior.