All Things Considered

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For President Obama, today's high court ruling brought vindication. It would have been a stinging embarrassment for the former constitutional law professor had his signature domestic policy been struck down as unconstitutional. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the political impact of the ruling.

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For more now on the political impact of the Supreme Court ruling, we're joined by NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, hi.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi, Melissa.

BLOCK: We heard jubilation from Democrats, some shock from Republicans there. This is clearly a very important legal win for the president and for his policy on health care. But until this point, health care has not always been a winning issue for the president. Let's listen to some of what he said today addressing that question.

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More now on the Supreme Court where health care was not the only case decided today. The justices struck down the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a crime to lie about receiving military decorations or medals. The Court ruled it may be unethical to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor, but it's protected speech under the First Amendment.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports that veterans groups are disappointed, but they say the decision leaves room for Congress to try again.

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So in the end, it was the chief justice, John Roberts, providing the key fifth swing vote to uphold the health care law. Roberts, the conservative appointee of George W. Bush, ended up siding with the liberal wing of the court. To talk about that turn, I'm joined by Jeffrey Rosen, law professor at George Washington University.

Welcome back, Jeffrey.

JEFFREY ROSEN: Good to be here.