ABSTRACT
In the months following its passage in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, dubbed “Obamacare” by its supporters and critics alike, emerged as one of President Obama’s signature legislative achievements, but also one of his chief political liabilities. Although as an issue, health reform had been an important part of candidate Obama’s successful brand message during the 2008 presidential campaign, the health care law was widely seen as having contributed to the Democrats’ sweeping losses in the 2010 midterm election. Despite having enacted legislation, an achievement that had eluded leaders in both parties for nearly a century, the Democrats had lost traction on the issue among key voter groups. Public opinion on the issue had shifted, but there is also evidence that how the president talked about health reform changed in the months before and after the law’s passage, from an emphasis on controlling health care costs to expanding coverage. The goal of this chapter is to critically analyze how Obama sought to deliver, once in office, on his promise to reform the nation’s health care system and the impact it had on popular support for the policy in the lead-up to the midterm 2010 election.
