White House plans events to boost health law's public support, but political, policy challenges are in sight

The Obama administration hopes the one-year anniversary of the health overhaul will offer a fresh opportunity to increase public support for the measure.

The Wall Street Journal: White House Seeks To Boost Public Support For Health Bill
The Obama administration next week will embark on a fresh pitch for the health care overhaul, seeking to boost public support for the law on its one-year anniversary. But lawmakers and some policy experts say the next phase of the overhaul will be more difficult to sell. Between now and the 2012 presidential election, few consumer-oriented changes kick in (Adamy, 3/17).

National Journal: Birthday Blues
The health care law turns one year old on March 23, and it's still unclear whether it will be President Obama's Waterloo or his critics' Appomattox. Those who take a short-term view of American history could rightly suggest the former. But history is a judge, not an executioner. Public opinion has turned on legislation first seen as unpopular, and sometimes it does so in dramatic ways. Admittedly, such a shift in this instance would require a very wide turn. The health care law inspires a gut-level resistance among its detractors reminiscent of the 1930s, when President Roosevelt shaped his New Deal initiatives, and three decades later, when Congress grappled with civil-rights issues (DoBias, 3/17).

Politico: Who's Missing Nancy Pelosi's ACA Party?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's not hiding under her desk — she held another press conference Thursday morning to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the health care law next week. The only thing missing was the rest of the heavy hitters (Nather, 3/17).

Meanwhile, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney continues to face political challenges of his own related to the Massachusetts' health reform plan he signed into law when he was the state's governor.

The Hill: DeMint Won't Back Romney Without Repudiation Of Mass. Health Law
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) "would never consider" endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for president again in 2012 unless Romney repudiates the health reforms he sought as governor, a source close to DeMint said Thursday (O'Brien, 3/17).