Well it’s done.  The Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act – you know, Obamacare.  But as big and important as that news is, it feels anti-climactic.  Even with Chief Justice Roberts leading the majority – a change that has had me worrying all morning that the end is near – it doesn’t feel big.

Maybe that’s because almost the whole law is still in the theoretical sphere.  I don’t have any children under 26, I’m happily free of pre-existing conditions and I’m nowhere near what used to be my lifetime maximum coverage.  Like most Americans, the ACA probably won’t touch me at all until 2014.  And if I’m employed then, I could still remain blissfully ignorant of its effects.

Or maybe it’s because the Republican rhetoric around the ACA has been so purple, so tortured, and so hysterical that it has taken the conversation to the level of Chicken Little screaming that the sky is falling.  I remember a time when the dread term “socialized medicine” could send politicians of every party howling to the media and kill any bill.  Apparently, so do the Republicans because the cries of socialism were almost immediate.  Then, of course, came more colorful threats like “death panels,” which fired conservatives up to protect the aged and infirm in whom they’d had no particular interest in the past.

All in all, it’s been like watching a particularly melodramatic telenovela – without the sexy parts that make them fun.

But now the ACA is real.  Prayed over and blessed by both liberals and a major conservative on the Supreme Court.  Oh sure, the Chicken Littles in the House are going to make a big play to repeal it so Eric Cantor can prove he’s a big man and ready to take over John Boehner’s job, but I’m feeling pretty confident at this point.  Having come this far, I think the Democrats only need to hone their skills at explaining the program.  President Obama himself was much better in his remarks this morning than he has ever been before.  Stronger messaging will be the best defense against the loons.

And as a final step, I think the administration should take the Republican nickname back from the right.  I’d like to see the president and every surrogate give up “Affordable Care Act” and gleefully use “Obamacare” in its place.  Like most Republican catch-phrases, it’s snappy and everyone knows it.  Thing is, now it’s a good thing.  The president and his people should own that.