In a season of cynicism, an inspiring decision

Those Founding Fathers knew what they were doing. Checks and balances worked last week, as the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 decision that surprised pretty much everybody.

The health care act, a centerpiece of President Obama’s first term, has been lied about, fought over and battered nearly to death by an onslaught of Republican and conservative advertising and misinformation. Pundits from the right have warned that the law will bankrupt our country, that it will bring higher taxes, lower levels of medical care and various other end-of-the-world calamities, including death panels that will pull the plug on the frail and elderly.

The law is complex and is written to take effect over the next several years. Mitt Romney, who created a health care program very much like the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts, has vowed to repeal it if elected. However, he and his supporters have lost credibility because of their universal blackball of all things Obama. The law is far from perfect, and Romney may be right about certain weaknesses in the legislation, but he undermines himself by pandering to the political cabal that demonizes the president on a daily basis and devotes its efforts to destroying any and all of his initiatives. The law may be flawed — we don’t know that yet — but it is far better than what we have now, especially for the poor and underserved, not exactly Romney’s base.

People who were expecting the law to be overturned by the high court, even plenty of Democrats, said that Obama spent too much of his political capital in his first two years on getting the law organized and passed. I guess they were wrong. Part of the problem has been Team Obama’s failure to educate the public about the desperate need for the law and the ways in which it will improve our lives, as individuals and as a country. Maybe they’ll do that now, on the campaign trail.