Search -
The Oath: The Obama White House vs. The Supreme Court
The Oath The Obama White House vs The Supreme Court Author:Jeffrey Toobin From the moment John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States, fumbled the oath of office at Barack Obama's inauguration, the relationship between the Court and the White House has been tense and confrontational. The president and the chief justice are both young, brilliant, charismatic, charming, determined to change the course of th... more »e nation -- and completely at odds on almost every major constitutional issue. And now they are also linked in history because of Roberts' stunning vote to uphold Obama's health care plan.
With his signature blend of insider reporting and lucid, entertaining analyses of the legal issues at stake, Jeffrey Toobin brings this relationship to urgent, vivid life. Drawn with indelible portraits of the egos, quirts, and politicking among the justices, The Oath also presents a president slow to realized the greatest threat to his agenda came not from the obstructionist Republican Congress but from the 5-4 majority Roberts led on the court.
The battle between the two branches of government has often been bitter, and public. In his 2010 State of the Union address, in an unusual breach of protocol, Obama criticized the controversial ruling in the Citizens United case, which removed decades-old restrictions on political spending by corportations, freeing them to flood the airwaves with anti-Obama advertising. As Obame spoke, Bush appointee Justice Samuel Alito muttered, "Not true."
With an election on the horizon -- and the possibility that the conservatives may lose their 5-4 majority -- the Roberts Court has accepted cases on many issues dear to the heart of the conservative movement. Never in such a short period have so many issues fundamental to the social landscape of the country -- women's rights, the right to sue, gun rights, freedom of speech, the death penalty, the barrier between church and state, and, above all, Obama's signature health care reform -- come before the Court.
No one is better positioned or more qualified to chronicle this dramatic take than Jeffrey Toobin, whose landmark bestseller The Nine laid bare the inner workings of the Court in riveting detail. In The Oath, Toobin brilliantly portrays the two dominant personalities in the nation engaged in political warfare with the hightest imaginable stakes.« less