Michael Tanner writes in The National Review Why the Obamacare Ruling Matters, 6/27/12.

Excerpts:

The average American adds up the costs and benefits and decides that, on the whole, they don’t want the law. It’s not bad marketing; it’s bad law.

That’s a dimension of the American character missed by those on the left who see government as nothing more than a benevolent force that goes about dispensing goodies and righting wrongs. The essence of the Obama administration is about the accumulation of government power, first by the federal government itself, and secondarily by the president himself. This desire for power explains not only the president’s policies but also his distaste for the democratic process, particularly when it stands in the way of his doing what he thinks must be done.

In a way, the health-care bill is typical of the entire Obama presidency. It asserts the power of government over individuals, and the power of the federal government over the states.

That is why Thursday’s Supreme Court decision is about far more than just one bad health-care law. If the bill — or at least the individual mandate — is struck down, the Court will have said that the power of government over our lives is not unlimited. There are some lines that government cannot cross, even when well-intentioned.

HKO comment:

On an old Johnny Carson show there is a clip of a commercial break for a dog food where the dog comes out to eat the food during the commercial message and the dog keeps turning away from the bowl. After several embarrassing attempts to get the dog to eat the dog food, Johnny quips, “The dog doesn’t like the damn food.”

It got a round of applause and cost the show a sponsor, but it also shows that a marketing campaign often misses the single most important issue; you must offer a product or service the consumer wants.

Only the power and arrogance of a political elite can keep selling a product that the market will not support.

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