A review by judyward
The Oath: The Obama White House and The Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

4.0

From the moment Chief Justice John Roberts swore in President Barack Obama in January 2009, there has been a confrontational relationship between the White House and the Supreme Court. Jeffrey Toobin believes that the basis of the hostility between the President and the Chief Justice is that one is a constitutional conservative and one one is a constitutional radical. And, in his view, it is the President who is essentially conservative on constitutional issues believing in pragmatism, compromise, and incremental change. In Toobin's view, Chief Justice Roberts want to lead a Supreme Court willing to overturn decades of decisions, ignore precedent, and undo many of the reforms reaching back to the New Deal. The high point of this conflict was in the 2011-2012 term when the challenge to the President's health-care legislation was heard by the justices. And, surprisingly, it was the Chief Justice's vote that upheld the constitutionality of that legislation. Toobin examines why Roberts voted to affirm and concludes that he is taking the long view and he wanted to keep the Supreme Court out of the 2012 election so that the Justices could renew their agenda later. The character sketches of the Justices on the Supreme Court both past and present drawn by Toobin contain some of the most fascinating portions of the book. A highly readable discussion of recent Supreme Court decisions.